The Legend of Zelda: Journey to Reseptica
by Orange Headphones
Summary: When Majora's Mask and Ganondorf join forces, disaster happens. It's up to Link to save both Hyrule and the neighboring land of Reseptica from destruction. Part 1 of 3 of a trilogy
1. A Deal

The sound of clashing metal filled the room. The eerily rainbow-colored walls were decorated with masks, one on each wall, able to see into your soul. On first glance, they seemed normal enough, albeit strange. On a second glance, they seemed to sneer at you and tell you that they were bigger than you were. And, on a third glance, they seemed pained, since they seemed agonized and trapped. It was if the masks on the wall had minds of their own.

In the center of the room, a young boy and a vaguely humanoid demon fought. The boy was dressed somewhat simply. He wore a green tunic that extended about halfway down his thighs. His boots were slightly tall, simple and brown. He wore a long hat that matched his tunic, sloping down to the collar of his tunic. He held a large shield and a large sword, both of which were quite battle-worn. He breathed heavily, gritting his teeth in the process. He looked like he'd sustained serious injuries, but he refused to stop fighting. One look at his eyes told you that he would not stop until he won the battle.

The demon had a strange head, somewhat small, sporting a single eye and four horns, two curved ones taking the place of its ears. Its arms and legs seemed both muscular and scrawny at the same time. It held two chain whips, flailing them around at the boy and shrieking like a banshee. It was a horrible sight to behold, but the most defining feature of the demon was its torso. It looked like a giant, heart-shaped mask. At its two tips, it sported two large spikes. The mask was bright and sported two piercing yellow and green eyes. They at once conveyed that it was incredibly manipulative, that it knew your secrets and would use them against you.

The demon knew that it was going to lose this battle. The boy was proving to be too powerful to stand against. Even though it was faster, the demon couldn't outrun the boy's assortment of other weapons, like arrows or a boomerang. So, the demon attempted to contact another demonic force; this one was once a man.

That man was sealed away in a distant world, one known as the Sacred Realm. He was muscular and covered most of his body in armor. His head, covered with red hair, was bare, save for a gem worn on his forehead. He carried himself with an intimidating air; he allowed for nothing that erred from his plans. Should such an anomaly happen, his blazing rage would destroy anything that got in his way.

He sat, brooding, in a cave. In the middle of it was a triangular piece of land, surrounded by a moat of lava. The triangle was split into four smaller triangles, all of them equilateral. The man sat outside of that moat of lava, furious that he had not figured out a way to escape from this realm yet. Power was his specialty, not wisdom.

Suddenly, he heard a sound. It was a voice that was filled with desperation but also with malice. It asked "Is this Ganondorf?"

The man, long deprived of any company, threw his head back in surprise at that sound. He responded with contempt and pride, asking "Who dares to disturb the great King of Evil?"

The voice responded, mocking Ganondorf for a moment, saying "You're such a great king, imprisoned in the Sacred Realm."

Ganondorf, starting to become angry, yelled "Who are you? What do you want?"

The voice, slightly cooler, responded, "They call me Majora. I often take the form of a mask, but, when awakened, I unleash great and terrible destruction. I think it's fun."

The man, sensing that this would continue for some time, said "Enough of your life's story. What do you want from me?"

Snickering ever so slightly, Majora said "I want to make a deal with you. I want to go to another world."

"Then why don't you go on your own?" Ganondorf spat.

"My time is nearly up. An irksome boy is about to defeat me. If I knew what he was capable of, I would have killed him before he had any power."

"Heh!" Ganondorf laughed, "Defeated by a child. You're clearly some great demonic force."

Becoming more serious, Majora said "I possess the power to get you out of here. Do you want it or not?"

"What's in it for me?"

"I can grant you even more power. That's what you want, isn't it? Don't you want the power to redeem your defeat, to have a second chance?"

Still skeptical of this voice, Ganondorf said "If you get me out of here, I'll take you up on your offer."

"Consider it done. Allow me to open a portal to my world for you."

Slowly, Ganondorf could see a portal starting to form on the triangle rock. It had a pale white color, slowly gaining more substance.

Impatient, he asked "How long will that take?"

"Oh, it should only take a moment or t—"

Meanwhile, the boy, sensing that the demon was distracted, raced toward him and delivered his final blow, slashing the demon across his mask-like torso. It screamed out in wrath and pain, unable to maintain its form any longer. It fell to the ground and its form began to disintegrate.

In a moment or two, it resembled its torso. It returned to the form of a mask, seemingly powerless and lifeless. Four spikes returned to each underside of the heart. Staring at the boy, its eyes changed slightly and admitted defeat. Simultaneously, they exuded hatred; nobody was supposed to be able to best it.

In the Sacred Realm, Ganondorf, not hearing an answer, roared "Well, what happened there? Are you too weak to continue what you started, or must I finish this myself?"

The voice seemed more attentive when it returned, and it said "I have met with a terrible fate."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"As I was talking with you, the boy defeated me; I have returned to the state of a lifeless mask. My power is gone."

"It's just as I thought. You're useless to me after all. I'll have better luck escaping from this place on my own."

Showing some signs of desperation, Majora responded "Hold on just a moment. If my calculations are correct, the boy will return me to one of my previous owners. He won't be stupid enough to wear me, but I'm too rare for him to let go. I can slowly sap his strength and open the portal that way."

Once again, Ganondorf asked, "How long will that take?"

The voice responded, "I can only take a small amount of energy at a time. Otherwise, he will know what I am doing and he'll move me far enough away from him that I cannot sap any strength. This portal requires a lot of energy to start up, and it might fade before too long."

Ganondorf proudly responded, "I can keep this thing open. I have a nearly limitless source of power here."

"That's a relief. Still, this is a very difficult portal to open. I hate to say it, but it will take months, maybe years, for me to finish opening it, a little bit at a time."

Ganondorf growled at Majora "If I had any other way out of here for now, I'd take it. But it seems I have no choice right now. Get me out of here, or else."

"Or else you'll do what? You'll come and get me, out of the Sacred Realm on your own? Shut up and wait your turn. I don't want to wait that long either, but you're my only hope and I'm your only hope. So, let's get through this."

"Don't ever say that I depend on you! Now, I'll wait here, but you'd better keep your end of the bargain."

"Oh, I will; you don't have to worry about that. When we get you out of here, I'll tell you how to get stronger."

In the meantime, the boy returned home, having ultimately found what he was looking for. He had saved the land, but he didn't want to live as its hero. Before he left, he took the demonic mask and gave it to a man with a large sack, full of masks, on his back. They had made an agreement, and the boy was fulfilling his end of the deal. He warned the man that the mask still had a great deal of power, should someone awaken it again. The man nodded and smiled, hardly listening to the boy.

The boy returned to his home, deep in the forest of another land. He found it strange to return after his recent adventures. He had left in the first place in order to find a friend of his, but he was ultimately unsuccessful. A part of him felt like a failure for it, but another part of him realized that he had done something good for others, putting him at ease. He still missed that friend, but he had others.

His home was in a village of other homes, made out of the trees, both on the ground and higher up in trees. When he returned, it was nightfall, so nobody was around. His home was one built off of the ground, so he walked the dirt path over to it, enjoying the feel of his native soil under his boots and breathing in the forest air. Then, he climbed up the ladder to his small dwelling and went inside.

It was just as he had left it, small and fairly tidy. The small wooden table was still in the center of the room, and his bed was off to the side. He took off his sword and shield and then emptied the pockets of his tunic. The amount of gear he had with him filled the table, and the boy smiled, no longer having to carry such a load with him.

Finally, he took off his boots and hat and slipped into his bed. It was simple enough, shaped like a log with a flat space for him to sleep in the middle of it. He had no blanket, but sleeping in a bed, as opposed to on rocks or grass, was good enough for him. He slept soundly through the night, peacefully for the first time in a while.

When morning came, he stretched and put on his hat, yawning as he got out of bed. He rubbed his eyes so that he could see a little more clearly, and then he noticed where he was. He was back home, and he had to see his friend; he needed to tell her about the journey he had just had.

He nearly rushed out of his house without his boots, but then he realized that the forest floor might not be comfortable without them. Quickly, he slipped them on, rushing out of the door. Before he even got down the ladder outside, he saw his friend running toward him.

She wore a green tunic, the same color as the boy's, and her boots were green and slightly shorter than his. Her hair was short and green, framing her face well. Her blue eyes glowed with a sense of wisdom. She was wise beyond her years. Today, she was excited beyond belief, because her dear friend had come back from his adventure.

Without saying a word, she embraced him and held him close. She had been worried about him, that he might get hurt or lost or killed. Now that he was back, it was something to celebrate, and, for the moment, it didn't need words. She let that moment soak in and she enjoyed it.

He was very glad to see her as well. He needed to tell someone about his new adventure, and she was his closest friend. He likewise enjoyed the embrace; he felt her care and concern in it, and he hoped that he could offer the same thing.

A moment or two later, she said "Link, how are you?"

He said, "Saria, do I have a story for you. You'll never believe what I've been through."

Smiling, she said "Well, tell me about it."

So, Link told Saria about his most recent adventures. He had saved a neighboring land from the demonic Majora, stopping the moon from destroying it. He showed that this had been a somewhat trying adventure, especially since he felt that whatever good he had done before his final battle was basically worthless. He didn't know if the people would learn from his example.

Saria consoled Link, reminding him that he had done a lot of great work for these people. Whenever Link didn't believe what she was saying, she would place her hand on his shoulder and would remind him that he did something that mattered. He looked up at her and smiled, starting to believe that he had done something good.

Link spent the next couple of weeks talking over the adventure with Saria. He felt that he would have to be in a much better mental state if he was going to talk to the princess, his other close friend, about this.

She helped him work through the pain of not finding Navi, his fairy companion. This turned out to be the most trying thing for Link, because Navi had been a dear friend and companion during his first adventure, when he left the forest for the first time. Now, he was back to being the only boy in the forest without a fairy, and he didn't know how to take that. It was very trying on him, because he felt like an outcast, except with Saria.

She was his only real friend in the forest. He knew a number of other people there, and he was friendly, but he couldn't open up to them. He could only do that with Saria; she had always cared for him and made sure that he was safe. She had been like his mother, and he always appreciated it.

On one of those days, Link and Saria walked through a more wild part of the forest, known as the Lost Woods. It was a mazelike stretch of forest, because you could get lost very easily if you didn't know your way around it. This was ultimately the way that Link had found his way into the next land.

They were looking for a very special place to the two of them, hidden at the end of this stretch of land. It was called the Sacred Forest Meadow, and they had often gone there to talk about important things. None of the other people in the forest knew how to get there; they were afraid of the Lost Woods.

Seemingly out of nowhere, a strange creature appeared among the trees. It vaguely resembled a scarecrow. Its glowing yellow eyes and beaklike nose caused it to stand out. Instinctively, Link pulled out his sword, preparing to fend this creature off. He would not let anybody hurt Saria.

However, the creature threw up its hands, shaking. Voice trembling with fear, it said "Please don't hurt me, Master Link."

Link quickly relaxed and put his sword back in its sheath. He recognized the creature in front of him and knew it was mostly harmless. However, Link still wasn't calm. He asked, eyelids lowered, "What do you want?"

The creature walked towards Link, and it fell down before him. Looking up into Link's eyes, it said "Master Link, I want to apologize for hurting you."

Link saw the sincerity in this creature's eyes; he knew that it was truly sorry. His eyes quickly softened, and he extended his hand, offering to pull it back to its feet. Chuckling a little bit, he said "That's all I needed to hear." Then, turning to Saria, Link said "Saria, this is the Skull Kid, the one I told you about. Skull Kid, this is my dear friend, Saria."

Saria, understandably confused, slowly extended her hand to the Skull Kid. Slowly, she muttered "H-hello there."

Skull Kid grasped her hand in two of his own. He smiled slightly and said "It's good to meet you." Then, Skull Kid turned to Link and said "I wanted to thank you, Master Link."

Link was taken aback by Skull Kid's comment and asked, "What do you mean? What do you want to thank me for?"

Skull Kid looked Link in the eyes and said "You saved me. If it wasn't for you, I'd still be a slave of that mask."

Link quickly attempted to brush off that compliment, waving his hand and shaking his head. He said, somewhat quickly, "Anybody could have done that."

Skull Kid continued to praise Link instead. "No," he insisted, "you are a hero. You saved that world from complete destruction." He paused for a moment and then added, guiltily, "destruction I nearly caused."

Link sensed the sincerity in his voice quickly. "That's not your fault. You didn't know what you were getting into."

"Yes I did. I knew that the mask was trouble, but I didn't listen to my friends, warning me. After it controlled me, nobody wanted to be near me. I drove all my friends away. Only you, Master Link, showed me any compassion. Now, I'm slowly working to gain back the people's trust. You turned my life around."

Link started to cry. For the first time, he realized that he had made a difference, a real and lasting difference on peoples' lives. Saria noticed this and held him for a moment, softly saying "I told you that you changed their lives."

Link lightly sobbed and looked at her, nodding. He then slowly turned to Skull Kid and told him "Thank you." Link dried the tears from his eyes. They looked different. He had a gleam in his eyes; he finally felt that he had helped someone for good. For the first time since his adventure, Link really smiled.

Link spent much of the next few days with Saria and the Skull Kid, having a lot of fun. Before too long, Saria reminded Link that he hadn't visited the princess. Link quickly thanked her and started running out of the forest, so he could go and see her again.


	2. The Rise of Majorandorf

Once he was outside the forest, Link found himself in a large, sprawling field. At first glance, it seemed like it went on forever. It was a sea of green, underneath a bright blue sky. The sun shone brightly; it was a simply beautiful day. However, Link did not take the time to enjoy the scenery. He wanted to see the princess.

Link ran all day and, just before dusk, wound up in front of a large drawbridge. It provided passage across a slight moat that surrounded the wall. The wall was large and intimidating, far too tall for someone to climb. When the drawbridge was up, there was no way in and no way out. Nobody wanted to spend the night in the field; it was very dangerous.

He noticed that the drawbridge was just starting to close, so he sprinted forward and jumped onto it. As it rose, he rode it up and ran downhill. In order to stop falling on his face, Link jumped off of the bridge. He had made it to town.

Moving more slowly, Link advanced past the narrow road he was on. It was made of paved stones. Link could faintly hear the click of his boots on the stone walkway. However, it was drowned out by the sounds of the market in front of him. At this time of day, the shops were slowly closing down, but the people still made a great deal of noise.

The market square was a large open space. Storefronts lined the edges of it. People peddled various goods, like potions and arrows or fruits and breads. Where there weren't stores, four paths branched out from the square. Two, one on each side of the plaza, went to people's simple houses. One led to the village temple, and the last led to the castle, where the princess lived. In the center of the square was a large fountain, where some people gathered to draw water and talk.

A few villagers recognized Link and greeted him. One was even kind enough to give Link a small loaf of bread he had been unable to sell. Link thanked the man profusely. The trip had made Link a little hungry. After eating the bread, Link continued on towards the castle.

Once he was outside the market, Link still had a long way to go in order to reach the castle. The castle was rather intimidating, finally in his view. It was somewhat plain, made mostly out of white stone similar to the gate around the town. It had a few towers, with green pinnacles. It sat on top of a small hill, overlooking the town, cloistered away with a short gate surrounding it.

However, it was very difficult to reach the castle. A smaller hill was in front of the castle, and a tall gate followed the curving path outside of the hill. In addition to that, guards, armed with spears to dissuade trespassers, were scattered throughout the area. They had armor bearing the royal family symbol in several areas. They did not seem intimidating, but, if they found someone, they would throw him back to the market.

In the past, Link had avoided these guards many times, especially during the first time he visited the princess. He could sneak around the guards, avoiding their line of sight. He was able to move quietly enough so that they would not hear him. So, he took a somewhat convoluted pathway, avoiding the guards by going around the tall gate and then cutting across the hill. From there, he climbed over the wall next to the small gate.

There was a small moat surrounding the castle. The main way into the castle was through the drawbridge. However, it was closed and only people the guards wouldn't consider trespassers could go through. So, Link could not enter through it. Instead, he leapt into the moat and took it around to the east side of the castle.

He climbed up onto a small platform, one that allowed anyone who accidentally slipped into the water to get back on dry land. Link took his hat off for a moment and shook his head. He wanted to get some of the water out of his hair, so it wouldn't get in his eyes as he continued to move towards the princess.

Link climbed up and noticed two crates, filled with the castle's daily milk, sitting on the main level, further down. He smiled and went over to them. This was just what he had hoped for. Across from him was a waterway, with an entrance just big enough for him to climb through, if he got down on his knees and crawled. There was also a door to his right, but guards were right inside of it, and he couldn't go through the door without being caught.

Pushing the crates, Link managed to create a makeshift extension of the ground. It gave him just enough space to jump on top of the waterway. He chuckled to himself and crawled through. By this time, dawn had broken, and the castle's security would be somewhat lighter. The real fun was just about to begin.

Link was then inside the castle's gardens. Shrubs and trees were widespread, but so were guards. At first, they were really easy to avoid, since they each patrolled a specific area, and Link would occasionally be out of their sight. They became slightly more difficult to avoid further on, but there were still times Link could sneak by. He used those chances to move past each area. The guards were none the wiser.

After making it past all of the guards, Link found himself in the castle's courtyard. Much like the Sacred Forest Meadow, Link felt very much at peace here. The water that surrounded the courtyard was calm, shallow, and slow-moving. There were a few more trees surrounding the grass here, and there were two small flower gardens too. They had thriving and beautiful plants. It exuded a sense of calm, and Link appreciated it.

Still, there was something more important than the greenery sitting there. She was a young woman with bright blue eyes and pointed ears. She wore a two-layered dress. The bottom layer was a simple white sleeved dress that nearly touched the ground when she stood. The upper layer was purple, sleeveless, and was thinly cut. It had a belt and a few jewels on it. Underneath the belt was the royal family crest, a golden triangle that was also three smaller triangles, with a fourth one in the middle, upside down and missing. It was known as the Triforce. She wore two golden wristbands that helped keep her sleeves in place. And, on her head, she wore a hat that covered her hair and then hung down to her shoulders, made of white and purple fabric, tied together by a Triforce emblem. She was the princess.

When she noticed Link, she smiled. Her eyes suddenly brightened, and she started to smile. She got right to her feet, and embraced Link. He expected this and put his arms around her too.

A few moments later, they let each other go and started talking. The princess started, saying "Link, it's so good to see you again. How have you been?"

Link said "Well, Zelda, you know that I went off looking for Navi."

Zelda looked somewhat concerned, "Yeah. How's she doing?"

Link bit his lip for a moment before he responded. "Well," he started, "I never actually found her."

She paused for a moment and put her hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry. I didn't know."

Link shrugged it off and said "That's okay. It's not as bad as it seems. There's a lot to tell anyways."

"I'm listening."

So, Link told her the same story he told Saria. This time, he was in a much better state of mind. Every now and again, Zelda would stop Link and ask him to clarify what he was talking about. She sat, enraptured with his story. She was a princess, and she lived in the castle. She almost never was able to leave it. Link's adventure was a sort of escape for her.

Link finished with "Well, that's what I've been up to. What has life been like for you?"

Zelda didn't answer Link at first. Instead, she said "You really went on quite an adventure, and it only was three days long. That's incredible."

Link nodded sheepishly. Still, he tried to motion that he wanted Zelda to answer his question.

She shortly understood what Link was trying to say, and she decided to answer. "Well," she said, "there isn't much to tell. I've mostly just stayed here in the castle. Every now and again, Impa and I go out into the village, but that's it."

Link nodded again. "I hear you." He didn't know what to say, but he felt like he had to say something.

Still, they managed to rebound after that and have a wonderful conversation. Before they were done visiting, Zelda made sure to give Link a piece of paper that he should always keep with him. It was a message for the guards, saying that he should be allowed to come and visit the princess whenever he desired, without hassle. Link really appreciated that gesture. Now, if he didn't want to, he wouldn't have to sneak around the guards to visit Zelda.

Link returned home to the forest a lot more slowly than he left it. Over the next few years, Link always visited Zelda at least once a month, and often it was far more frequently.

Three years later, Saria talked to Link before he left yet again. She knew that he was going to go and see Zelda shortly. She smiled and asked him, "You like her, don't you?"

He turned his head to the side and rubbed the back of his neck. He was unable to say much, but he eventually eked out a "Yes."

Saria patted him on the back and said, "Good luck, buddy."

Link smiled, thanked Saria, and then promptly headed for the castle.

Meanwhile, Ganondorf and Majora were bickering about the portal and why it hadn't opened yet.

"It's been three years. Why isn't this damn portal open?" Ganondorf yelled.

Majora responded, exasperated, "Because, it takes a lot of energy for me to keep dealing with your whining. The energy either goes towards opening the portal or talking to you."

Ganondorf leered at Majora, mentally. He did not like to be insulted. "Is it at least close yet?"

"Yes. Have patience, because we're nearly there. Just give me two or three more minutes."

"Hmph. This had better be worth it."

"Oh, just shut your mouth."

A few moments later, the pale white portal changed color. Now, it was a bright, vibrant, light blue. Ganondorf started to move towards it, but Majora stopped him, saying "Hold on. Before you go, you need to know where to find me and where I'll be hidden."

Impatient, Ganondorf said, "Hurry up and tell me."

"Now listen. You'll come out of this portal on the top of a clock tower. If you're good enough, you can find your way down without dying. You're looking for a strange man. He has a bag of masks on his back. He'll probably be hiding somewhere, and I'd guess it's inside that clock tower."

Ganondorf hardly paid attention to what Majora told him; he just wanted to be free. He walked into the portal, and closed his eyes for a moment.

When he opened them again, he was standing on the top of a large clock tower. It was a very tall structure in the middle of a busy town. Easily twice as tall as anything else in the town, it served as a wonderful vantage point from which to survey the surrounding area. People constantly looked toward it to check the time, displayed on a rotating disk.

Ganondorf quickly shielded his eyes. Living in that cave, Ganondorf hadn't seen sunlight for years. His eyes slowly adjusted to it. Then, he focused on getting off of the tower. There was no obvious way down from it. The only time someone was able to get to the top of it was at the yearly festival, the Carnival of Time. Then, stairs leading up to the top of the tower would appear. However, that celebration was a few months away, and Ganondorf was in no mood to wait.

He thought for a moment or two and then recognized that the only way he could get down would be to jump. This jump would kill a normal man, but Ganondorf was no normal man. He had incredible stamina, but he also possessed the ability to hover slightly.

Some of this was due to an ancient artifact known as the Triforce of Power. It was one third of the mystical Triforce and, as its name implies, granted the holder an incredible amount of power. Ganondorf increased his already impressive brute strength with it. In addition to physical strength, the Triforce of Power granted him the ability to master his surroundings, allowing him to levitate when it suited his mood.

Ganondorf then jumped, and softly landed on the ground. He was completely unscathed. Several townsfolk noticed his descent and were dumbstruck.

One turned to another and asked, "Who is this weirdo?"

Ganondorf knew that they were talking about him, and he did not appreciate that. He turned to this man, and drew back his arm. In an instant, he punched him, squarely in the jaw. He growled to the man, "Don't ever talk about me like that again."

The rest of the town started to notice the commotion. One of them was the man that Ganondorf was looking for. He immediately recognized the dark king and tried to creep away. He knew him from several years ago and was utterly terrified of him. The only place he could think to go was inside of the clock tower.

He crept over to the wooden doors and slowly pushed them open. They creaked, and his could hear his heart pounding. He slipped into the darkness, trying not to breathe. Just to be safe, he took off his sack of masks and pressed himself up against the wall. He hoped that, if he waited, Ganondorf would pass him by and not come after his precious mask.

However, Ganondorf had noticed the man's escape attempt. He forced his way through the substantial crowd, towards the clock tower. If anybody got in his way, he simply threw him aside, like a piece of trash. At the doors of the clock tower, he warned the crowd not to follow him. He told them, in no uncertain terms, "I will kill you if you try and follow me. I have business to attend to in here."

With a mighty heave, Ganondorf forced open both doors. They were sturdy and large, and he nearly broke them off of their hinges. The man noticed Ganondorf's presence, and he tried to hide himself further in the shadows. He feared for his life; he stood no chance against Ganondorf's power and wrath.

The strong man got right to the point. He picked up the quivering man by his collar. He then thrust him against the wall. Sparing no words, he commanded, "Give it to me."

The smaller man gulped and asked, "Wh-what are you talking about, sir?"

The response was cruder and more powerful. "I want the mask; give it to me."

He whimpered, "Which one, good sir?"

Ganondorf was tired of this game. He yelled, "You know damn well which mask I'm talking about. Give me Majora's Mask, or it'll mean your life."

The man feigned ignorance for a moment and said, "What are you talking about, sir? I don't know what that is."

Ganondorf punched the man in the stomach. He crumpled and wheezed for a moment. Then, the man came to his senses and answered Ganondorf directly. He said, still trying to regain his breath, "It's in my pouch, and it's the one on top."

Ganondorf carelessly dropped the man and opened his pouch of masks. The pouch was nearly as tall as him, so he didn't have to stoop down to open it. In a moment, he came across the mask he had been looking for. Its haunting eyes called out to him, and it nearly moved. It had been found, which was just what it wanted.

He laughed. It was a deep and menacing laugh. Ganondorf could feel the power that this mask possessed, but it still seemed weak to him. He mocked both the mask and the man with his laughter, claiming to be stronger than both of them. Still, he had come with a purpose, and he decided to try to harness the power of the mask.

He put it on. In an instant, he noticed that he had underestimated the power of the mask. It was incredibly powerful, though he thought he was stronger than it. The mask's vigor suddenly surged through Ganondorf's body, making him even more powerful. In a moment, the mask had practically melded itself to Ganondorf's face. It wasn't a stiff mask any more. There was no longer Ganondorf or Majora's Mask. Instead, there was a power known as Majorandorf. It may have looked silly, but he had unbelievable strength. He was anxious to try it out.

Majorandorf advanced towards the small, quivering man. He smiled maliciously. He thought that it would be a fun game to see how badly he could hurt him.

The man groveled, begging "Please don't kill me."

Sadistically, Majorandorf asked, "Why shouldn't we?"

He thought quickly, trying to find any information that could spare his life. He pleaded, "Because I can tell you about this land to the north."

Toying with the man, Majorandorf said, "Go on."

"It's called Reseptica. I was going to go there myself, to see what kind of rare masks they have there. Legend tells that it is home to three ferocious beasts and rare, advanced technology."

Unimpressed, Majorandorf told him, "A legend. That's all you can tell us about. You mean to think that you can escape with your life because you told us about a land to the north? You sad, pitiful man. We're going to enjoy seeing you suffer." With this, he laughed and taunted the poor man.

He beat the man to a pulp, enjoying every moment of it. He stopped just short of killing him, and said "We'll spare your life, just in case this rumor is true. We'll go there second. First, we've got some unfinished business to take care of."

Majorandorf then exited the clock tower. Once outside, he started to hover and fly westward. He laughed, and its cold, sinister sound permeated the entire land. He had done what he intended to do. Now, it was time to really test the powers of this new form.

As Majorandorf headed west, Skull Kid returned to the clock tower. Its basement served as a link between two lands, Link's land and this other land. He had come back to spend some time in town. His relationship with the people had improved over the last several years, but he wanted to make it stronger. He still wanted to make up for the distress and destruction he had caused. On his way, he saw the man inside. He noticed the wounds and became very scared.

Concerned, he asked, "Mask man, what happened?"

He responded, "Never mind that. Just go and warn Link. I fear that a terrible power is coming his way."


	3. Confrontation

Back in the forest, Link was relaxing for a moment. He had just spent the last few hours practicing his swordplay. Over the last few years, there hadn't been much of a threat around. If he went out into the field after dark, he could fight a few monsters. They were a challenge for him a few years ago, but he had become experienced against them rather quickly.

So, Link had taken to training on his own, spending hours on end swinging his sword, attempting to increase both his strength and endurance. However, he did not mindlessly repeat one swing. He practiced vertical, horizontal, diagonal, and spinning strikes. He made sure that every slash had perfect form. Poor form would lead to sloppy attacks and more soreness. That could mean the difference between life and death in a good fight.

In addition to swordplay, Link made sure that he had complete command of his shield. He needed to anticipate the slightest movement of any opponent. His sword was an offensive weapon. His shield was a life-preserving defense. If he fought an offensively-minded opponent, his shield was the most effective strategy he had. He could use it to bide his time until the slightest opening appeared, which he could exploit if he were quick enough.

This kind of training, while exhausting, made Link a stronger fighter. He trained several times a week, but he refused to do so on days he visited Zelda. He never wanted her to worry about his well-being. Also, he didn't want to be at anything short of his best when he saw her. She was too important to be tired in front of.

Link lay right on the small porch outside of his house. He was still breathing heavily, since he had only just stopped training. He stretched his arms above his head and then sat up. Looking at the vast forest, he noticed someone running towards him.

Skull Kid continued to sprint towards Link's house. He completely ignored all manners by running into the sparser part of the forest. His kind was not supposed to leave the dense and thick woods. Many people who lived in the forest were afraid of Skull Kid's race, believing them to be somewhat demonic. Still, Skull Kid was so determined to warn Link that nothing could stop him.

He quickly spotted Link, easily the tallest of the forest people. Skull Kid rushed up the ladder and started talking with Link. Before Skull Kid could open his mouth, Link stopped him. Link didn't care about segregating races. Truth be told, he was not a natural forest dweller or Kokiri. Instead, he belonged to the race that lived outside of the forest, known as Hylians. The most obvious difference between Link and the Kokiri is that Link was growing up. Kokiri always looked like children, so there was no way to tell how old they really were.

Link asked, rather confused, "What are you doing here? I thought that you were going to Clock Town."

Skull Kid responded, "Oh yes. I was going to Clock Town, and I made it as far as the clock tower. But then I saw something terrible." He shook for a moment, beckoning Link to press him about it.

Concerned, Link asked him, "Well, what did you see there?"

Skull Kid shuddered again, and then said, "I saw 'Mask Man,' lying on the ground. He told me to run and tell you that something was coming your way, something terrible."

"What was it?"

"He, he said that the Mask is alive again. But, he also said that it gets worse. The mask has fused with Ganondorf."

Link was shocked. Majora's Mask was already a difficult opponent. He was able to feed off of the life force of its host, but Ganondorf was another story entirely. Link knew that his power was tremendous and that their combination was deadly.

Still determined, Link asked, "Where were they going?"

"He said that they were going to be coming here, somewhere in Hyrule."

Link immediately became very nervous. He knew that, as strange as he might be, the Happy Mask Salesman would not lie to Skull Kid about something like this. Skull Kid wasn't lying, so this was a very scary situation. Link decided to risk one more question. He asked, "Do you know where they'll be?"

"I think he'd be in the village to the east. It's the easternmost town in Hyrule."

Link agreed. Though he was still tired, he grabbed his sword and shield. They were simple enough. The sword was not overly long, but it also was not very short. The shield was made of metal, and it was sturdy, though not overly strong. Once he had gathered this gear, he turned to the Skull Kid and said, "I want you to stay here. It's too dangerous for you out there."

Skull Kid agreed with what Link had to say, and he said he would stay put. What Link didn't notice was that his little fingers were crossed behind his back. Skull Kid simply couldn't stay put in the forest for too long. He had no intention of joining the fight, but he also had to see what would happen.

Link deliberately marched out of the forest. As he continued to walk into the field, he saw a stream of people rushing away from his destination. Link was headed for the northeast part of the field, because that led to a place known as Kakariko Village. Link recognized the fleeing people as villagers of the town.

A few of them stopped for a moment, noticing Link. Most of those begged him to save their small village. Many more simply ignored him, not sure that even he stood a chance against this new threat. They feared for their lives, and they did not want to take any chances.

Link noticed that they were primarily headed for the walled area that was more centrally located in the field. It was a walled structure known as Lon Lon Ranch. In the case of emergencies, people fled there, since it could support a large number of people. It was a simple horse ranch where Link had spent a few nights there through the years, especially when he had been out too late with Zelda. His friend Malon was one of the main caretakers, and she always knew how to deal with people coming in.

Link took a deep breath as he crossed the bridge just outside of the village. There truly must have been something at least as terrifying as Ganondorf in order to make them this scared.

As he entered the small town, Link's fears were answered. Kakariko Village was normally a relatively small town. Six buildings dotted the landscape. One of them was a potion shop, and the other five were homes. On the top of the hill, there was a large windmill that helped pump water in and out of the town well. To the north, there was a large gate that guarded a pass into the mountain range. Behind the hill was a graveyard where a gravekeeper lived.

However, the town looked drastically different now. The windmill had been knocked over and most of the buildings were on fire. Link gasped when he noticed the damage. This kind of destruction was basically unheard of in Hyrule. Link had only seen something like this once before. That time, he had a dear friend to help him. This time he was alone.

Before long, Link noticed the cause of this destruction and mayhem. When Skull Kid told him about Majorandorf, he did not expect to see this. A part of him still hoped that Ganondorf and Majora were still separate entities. He was taken aback in shock, but his reflexes started to take over. He drew his shield.

Majorandorf hovered a few feet above the well, smiling about the destruction he had caused. He soon looked over at Link, and began taunting him. "Well, kid," he started, "we're very impressed to see you here. We thought that you might chicken out and not come see us."

Link tersely said, "What do you want here?"

"Well, it's rather simple. We want to make you feel our pain."

Link recognized quickly that this was a very difficult opponent. He also feared for the sake of Kakariko Village. It was in terrible shape already. This fight could completely destroy it.

"Would you mind fighting me somewhere else?"

"What are you trying to pull here, kid?"

Link looked the monster right in the eyes and said, "I'm not trying to pull anything. I'd just rather fight you out in the field." In an attempt to make his request seem more reasonable, Link added, "I can't find anywhere to hide there."

"We accept your request. Besides, we want to burn something else."

Once the two were out in the field, Majorandorf hovered and drew a large sword. This blade was simply massive, nearly as long as Link was tall and three times as wide as Link's sword. Link realized that he was in big trouble immediately. He hoped that his training had been good enough to keep him alive.

Majorandorf taunted, "Well, your time's up. It's time to die!"

The monster started to dive towards Link. He held his sword out in front of his head, holding himself completely straight. He used gravity to launch himself towards Link like a gigantic spear. To make himself more intimidating, he started spinning so that he resembled a massive drill.

In desperation, Link dove away from the strike, and he narrowly escaped it. Majorandorf, not satisfied with failure, attempted the same strike a few more times. Link continued to dive and roll away from the attack. However, each time, Link was closer to being hit. On the fifth try, Majorandorf managed to hit Link, clipping his left ankle.

Link cried out in pain, knowing that he could hardly move. Still, he gritted his teeth and struggled to his feet, favoring his right side. He refused to give in. He had to stop Majorandorf from destroying Hyrule.

"Oh, are you hurt, little man? That's just too bad. I thought that you might be a worthy challenge for me."

Link spat back, "I'm more than a challenge for you."

"If you really are good enough, then we'll see if you can take this."

Majorandorf conjured a large yellow ball of energy. It seemed to crackle, as if it were made out of electricity. Link readied his sword. When Link fought Ganondorf in the past, he faced an attack like this. All he had to do was swing the energy back with his sword.

Link smirked and said "Bring it."

Majorandorf hurled the ball towards Link. Link swung his sword upwards. However, instead of reflecting the energy, Link's strike was useless. Link felt the full force of the electric energy course through his body. He crumpled to his knees for a moment.

Majorandorf took this chance to goad Link again. "Oh, you're such a great opponent. We're practically shaking in our boots. Try that again, won't you?"

At that, Link struggled to his feet again. He knew that he stood no chance in the fight. He was too weak right now. Still, his pride refused to let him fall this easily. "I'm not dead yet."

Majorandorf said, "You're right. But that doesn't mean that you're worth our time."

"Just try me."

Majorandorf sighed, recognizing that this was just becoming too tedious. "Well, if you insist, we can make this more painful. You won't like that though."

Majorandorf then dove towards Link, attempting to drill at him again.

Link knew that he couldn't roll away from this attack, so he did the only thing he could think of. He held his trusty shield in front of him, hoping that it would protect him.

Thankfully, it saved his life. Majorandorf drilled right into it, but the shield stopped him from doing any damage. However, the strike was so powerful that it bored a hole through the shield. Majorandorf's sword was sparse inches away from Link's face.

Link recognized that he had one attempt to stay alive. He quickly unstrapped his shield and threw it to his left and attempted to roll to his right. His ankle crumpled under him, and Link lay there, completely at Majorandorf's mercy.

Much to Link's surprise, Majorandorf just looked there at him. He thought that that monstrosity would try to murder him for sure. Instead, Majorandorf sheathed his sword and said something surprising. "You're boring us. We don't want to fight you, because you're too weak. It just wouldn't be fun to kill you like this."

Link, dumbstruck, attempted to eek out a response, but nothing came.

Majorandorf paid little attention to Link, but continued musing. "We think we'll take that pathetic mask salesman up on his suggestion and go north. Maybe Reseptica will be worth our time, unlike you."

Link struggled to get back to his feet again, but he found that he couldn't. Link yelled out in pain. Then, he said, "Someone will stop you, monster."

Majorandorf momentarily snapped out of his reflection and turned his attention on Link. "Oh, you're still awake, aren't you? And we guess you heard what we were talking about. So, we can't leave you conscious, can we?"

He conjured another ball of energy. Before he threw it, he said, calmly and softly, "Good night, little Linky. You'll think twice before you mess with Majorandorf again."

As the blast struck him, Link cried out in incredible pain. His body could no longer take any more damage, and so he lost consciousness. Link's training had been enough to save his life, but only barely.

Majorandorf flew up in the air and started flying north. He would quickly determine if Reseptica was real at all. If it weren't, the Happy Mask Salesman would die. If it was, he might die anyway.

Skull Kid was peering from just outside of the forest. He was scared to go any further outside of its sheltering trees. He never thought that Link could possibly lose. He retreated into the woods and looked for the only Kokiri that he trusted: Saria.

Luckily, Saria was on the bridge just inside the forest. She was also worried about Link's well-being. After all, this was one of her dearest friends. She didn't think that Link could handle an intense fight on the same day as his training, but she didn't try to get in Link's way. When that man was determined, there was nothing that could get in his way.

Skull Kid practically ran into Saria when he rushed into the forest. She nearly fell to the ground, but she grabbed onto Skull Kid, preventing them from tumbling off of the bridge.

She immediately started to get to the bottom of what happened. She said, "Skull Kid, what are you doing here? Weren't you watching Link?"

He held back tears, throwing himself on Saria's shoulder. He didn't want to say anything to her about this. He wanted to forget that anything had happened.

She said, "Skull Kid, I need you to talk to me. What happened to Link?"

He pulled himself off of her for a moment and said, "He was too strong."

Saria was confused. To clarify, she asked, "So they were too strong for him?"

Skull Kid sniffled and said, "Yes."

"Well," she asked, more concerned, "how is Link right now?"

"He, he's so hurt. He's not moving."

Saria's face turned deathly pale. "Please tell me he's not dead."

Skull Kid eased her fears. "No, he's not dead. But, he's very, very hurt."

Saria knew that she had to find out more about what was happening. So, she pressed Skull Kid further. "Well, what happened to the two of them?"

"Majorandorf flew away to the north."

Again, Saria started to get scared. Hyrule Castle and Princess Zelda were to the north. She knew that Zelda was a decent fighter, but she wouldn't stand a chance against a beast like this. "Did he say where he was going?"

Skull Kid nodded. "He said that he was looking for a place called Reseptica."

Saria breathed a sigh of relief. Zelda was safe, at least for the moment, and that was comforting. Saria didn't know anything about Reseptica. It sounded like nonsense to her, but she made sure to ask Skull Kid what he knew about it.

He knew nothing. He thought that Saria would know what it was instead. After all, she was an important person in the forest.

She was sure of one thing: Reseptica was not in Hyrule. She knew Zelda, and Zelda would have mentioned it at one of their meetings. At least once every few months, she and a few others met with Zelda to discuss the state of Hyrule. Saria was the representative of Kokiri Forest and of the Kokiri.

This group was known as the Seven Sages, and they helped preserve unity among the different races of Hyrule. While he was venturing throughout Hyrule, Link had met all of them. They all knew him, recognizing that he was Hyrule's best warrior, even at his young age.

Saria knew that, since Link was hurt badly, they would have to do something to protect Hyrule from this new threat. They had managed to seal Ganondorf away once before. Maybe they could seal this threat away too.

She was about to try and contact the other sages, but Saria noticed a tugging on her sleeve. Skull Kid asked, "What are we going to do about Link?"

She put her arm around Skull Kid and said, "Don't worry about Link. When he wakes back up, he'll know what to do. He'll be okay. I promise."

Skull Kid nodded and trusted Saria. He really couldn't do anything else.

Saria focused and summoned her energies. She sent out a telepathic signal to the other sages. It was blunt and to the point: we've got trouble, because something just took down Link.


	4. Recovery

Link started to regain his composure. He got to his feet and started to examine his surroundings. He quickly realized that he was not in the field. He did not recognize where he was at all.

He stood on the edge of a cliff. Below him, there was a great deal of nothingness. If he took one step too far, he would surely fall to his death. To his left and right, the cliff stretched on, as far as he could see. Behind him, there was just more cliff. There was no life in the area. In the twilight, this land looked slightly purple.

Link turned around and started to explore. He took a few steps when he heard a sound behind him. He walked back to the edge of the cliff and noticed something else. He saw another piece of land, low and far away from him. It was just far enough away that he had to squint to see what was there.

Once again he heard a sound. This time, he recognized that it was a scream, a woman's scream. He saw that, on the other piece of land, a man was attacking a woman. He squinted, trying to make out what was happening. He recognized the woman very quickly; she was Princess Zelda. The man looked like Ganondorf at first, but Link soon realized that it was actually Majorandorf.

Instinctively, Link reached for his sword and shield, ready to leap into action. However, he noticed that they were not on his back. Curiously, even his sheath was gone. Link, even though he was unable to fight, still wanted to help. This was Zelda in trouble. Majorandorf had wiped the floor with him; he wanted to protect her, if was at all possible.

He took a few steps backwards, readying himself to jump. If he could give Zelda a chance to escape, then he would gladly risk his life to do that. Quickly, Link was in position, and he took a deep breath. Zelda's screams filled the dark land. Link sprinted and jumped perfectly. He hoped that he would have just enough distance to grab onto Zelda's platform.

Unfortunately, Link was unable to move onwards. At the edge of the cliff, there was a wall, invisible to the naked eye. As much as he wanted to save Zelda, he could not do so.

His leap made a considerable noise, and both Majorandorf and Zelda noticed Link's presence. Zelda looked at him, somewhat hopeful. Link's presence encouraged her. Majorandorf looked at Link and smiled maliciously. He knew that this was a chance to hurt Link.

Mustering all of the courage he had, Link tried to speak authoritatively. He told Majorandorf, "Hey, you leave Princess Zelda alone."

Majorandorf didn't respond to Link with words. Instead, he laughed menacingly and grabbed Zelda by her hair. She tried to resist, screaming again and trying to scratch and kick at Majorandorf, but her efforts were futile. Majorandorf pulled back his other arm and punched her in the stomach.

Zelda crumpled in Majorandorf's grasp. Link felt sick to his stomach and started pounding on the wall in front of him. He hoped that he could get Majorandorf to leave Zelda alone by distracting him.

Majorandorf, grinning, ignored Link, except to look over and see the pain on his face. It continued to give the fiend extra motivation to get rid of Zelda, once and for all. He cocked his arm back and punched Zelda again, but this time it did more damage. Zelda coughed up a little blood this time, and she was hanging onto life by a thread.

Link slipped to his knees as he banged on the wall. He begged Majorandorf, "Take me, not her. Please." Link was crying freely, feeling completely useless. He could do nothing to help save Princess Zelda. He had failed her.

Majorandorf continued to torture Zelda, but Link could not bear to see this happen. He turned his head away in shame. His eyes noticed a signpost next to him. It had one word printed on it: Reseptica. For a moment, Link had found a distraction. What could this mean? Was Reseptica a real place after all?

Link's thoughts were quickly interrupted. Zelda cried out one last time, desperation in her voice, "Link, save me!"

He remembered that Zelda was still in danger, and he could do nothing. He noticed Majorandorf turn to him and smile again. It was the smile of a madman full of power, terrifying in every respect.

Majorandorf drew back his hand one more time, and it started to glow with a blood red energy. This was going to be the punch that killed her, and he was ecstatic that Link was watching; it made the moment so much sweeter.

He was about to deliver the punch when Link screamed "No!" praying that it would stop him.

Link shot up and felt a terrible pain in his head. He checked his surroundings and found that he was in the safety of Lon Lon Ranch, and it was the middle of the night. He paused for a moment and took a deep breath of relief. Zelda wasn't dead. It had only been a bad dream.

Link was lying down in a bed. This was clearly different than any of the times that he had previously slept at the ranch. Then, he normally slept in an empty stall in the stable. A pillow felt strange underneath him, but he appreciated the gesture.

Link looked to his left and saw his friend Malon sitting down in one of the chairs in the room. She was a pretty girl, with bright blue eyes and a very kind face. Thick red hair framed her face and flowed down her back, practically to her waist. She dressed simply. She wore a white blouse with short sleeves, and it continued down to a long pink and purple skirt that went midway up her shins. Her legs were hidden by a pair of durable, brown boots. Underneath her plain brown belt, she wore a simple brown apron, clearly worn by her years on the ranch. Finally, she wore a yellow scarf around her shoulders, tied in place over her chest with a personal charm.

She and Link had been friends for years, especially since she let him use her favorite horse, a chestnut brown mare named Epona. If Link really needed to get somewhere in a hurry, he would use Epona, often playing a song Malon had taught him on his ocarina.

When she saw that Link was conscious again, Malon smiled and rushed over to embrace him. Link smiled as well and returned the hug.

They parted, and Malon started up conversation. Serious, she said, "I saw that you were shaking pretty badly there. Was it a bad dream?"

Link nodded and said, "Yeah. But don't worry about it; you weren't in it." Both of them knew that Link's dreams could be prophetic.

Malon sighed in relief. Then, recognizing that Link was still a little confused, she said, "So, I bet you're wondering what you're doing here."

"Well, yeah. The last thing I remember, I was still in Hyrule Field."

"A huge crowd of people came to the ranch yesterday, and they were scared. They told me that you were fighting a monster. I peeked out from the edge of the ranch and saw your fight. You battled bravely, but he was too much for you. Then, after you collapsed, I saw him leave. When I was sure he was gone, I came and got you and brought you back here. You seemed pretty hurt, so I decided to give you the bed; you really needed it."

Link smiled in gratitude. All he could say was, "Thank you, Malon. I owe you one."

She refused any credit and said, "You're welcome, Link. But you don't owe me anything. It's the least I can do to keep an eye on you when you're in trouble. You're my friend."

Link understood. Malon was like a little sister to him. They always kept an eye out for each other. If one was in trouble, the other would rush to help. Link occasionally even spent a few days helping Malon on the ranch. In addition to spending time with a good friend, it gave Link a chance to train his body in an unexpected way. He loved doing it.

Link started to get up, and he found that his ankle was still tender. Malon noticed him struggling to put much weight on it, and she rushed over, trying to stop Link from trying too hard.

She said, "What do you think you're doing? You can't go anywhere on that ankle."

Link brushed it aside and said, "Malon, I've got to go."

Adamantly, she said, "There's nothing you can do in the forest when you can't walk properly."

Link raised his voice and told Malon, "I'm not going to the forest. I'm going to see Zelda, because she was in the dream. I have to let her know the kind of danger we're both in."

Quietly, Malon said, "I understand. Good luck."

Link hugged Malon. "Thank you. Don't worry; I'll come back in one piece. I promise."

"You'd better, Fairy Boy."

Link chuckled at Malon's old nickname for him and started limping away. That name brought him back to when they first met. Link was trying to meet Zelda for the first time, and he was traveling with his friend, Navi the fairy. Aside from his green tunic, that was one of the first things that she noticed was Navi. So, she naturally called him "Fairy Boy." Link didn't like the nickname at first, but it grew on him in time.

As Link slowly made his way towards Hyrule Castle, Majorandorf was flying towards Reseptica. From an outsider's perspective, he looked very determined, but he was arguing with himself during this flight, both personalities bickering with each other. They disagreed about letting Link go.

Ganondorf interrogated, "Why did we let Link go?"

Majora answered, "It wasn't fun to fight him like that."

Enraged, Ganondorf answered, "What does that matter. I want to see him dead, and I don't care how."

"So, you don't mind defeating him when he's obviously weak? Are you, with your Triforce of Power, willing to kill him when he's clearly not at full strength? What will that do to your pride?"

Defensively, Ganondorf answered, "I don't care how I kill him."

"You say so. Still, there might be a challenge here in Reseptica."

"What makes you say that?"

With a hint of glee in Majora's voice, he said, "Let's just say that I know a thing or two about the monsters that man talked about. And, they're going to be fun to control."

Ganondorf calmed himself slightly at this prospect. He loved the thought of controlling the surrounding world. "All right, but you'd better be careful. If this doesn't work, I'll get rid of you too."

"You won't try to get rid of me. You need me too much."

Ganondorf knew that Majora wasn't lying. They both needed each other. Ganondorf needed the extra power, and Majora needed a host to feed off of. Still, Ganondorf did not like feeling out of control. He added, coldly, "Don't think you're not expendable too."

Eventually, Link made his way to Princess Zelda. They met again in the courtyard, mostly because it was comfortable and Link needed to be somewhere soft, especially with his ankle. It offered the best place to sit, and Link always loved meeting with Zelda there too. It allowed them their privacy.

Formalities aside, Link and Zelda got right to business. They both knew that this was not a regular visit, filled with pleasantries.

Link began with a hint of desperation in his voice, saying, "Zelda, we've got a problem."

"I know. Ganondorf and Majora's Mask have teamed up and took you down."

Confused, Link asked, "How did you know that?"

Zelda paused, and then said, "Link, the other sages told me. Skull Kid saw what happened, and he told Saria. Then, she told the rest of us."

"Well, what did the other sages have to say?"

"Most of them were in disbelief. They found it hard to believe that something had taken you down. After you took down Majora more than three years ago, they didn't think that it was that much of a threat and that, even if it worked with Ganondorf, it wouldn't be much of a threat. Darunia was especially disappointed to hear the news, and he wanted to try and stop Majorandorf on his own. Thankfully, we were able to stop him. They all sensed that you would come to me next and that we should prepare to defend Hyrule against this threat—"

Link interrupted her, saying, "Especially since he'll be back soon, right?"

Confused, Zelda asked, "What do you mean?"

"Well, he'll be coming back soon. Reseptica's not real, right?"

Zelda understood what Link was talking about, and she shook her head. Gravely, she said, "No, Link. Reseptica is a real place. It's a land to the north of us, and it's quite strong. They're a peaceful people, but they have great power. They're also far more technologically advanced than we are in Hyrule. The hookshot and longshot are our attempts to copy some of their more basic inventions."

The color drained out of Link's face. "I can't imagine Ganondorf coming back with even stronger weapons. He won't even need Majora's Mask at that point."

Zelda still remained cool and collected. "No," she said, "He won't care about the weapons. This is Ganondorf after all. He could have killed you and taken control of this kingdom if he wanted to."

"Then what is he after?"

"It's a long shot, but I think that he's trying to awaken some powerful beasts there. The reason Reseptica has so much technology is because it has had to survive against ferocious monsters. Two of them are said to prowl the southern half of the kingdom, killing anything that they so choose. Majorandorf probably wants to make them do his bidding."

Determined, Link answered, "That settles it. I've got to stop him."

"Hold on there. There's no way that you can stop Majorandorf with your ankle like that. You can hardly walk, let alone run or fight."

"Zelda, if I don't go, then he'll take those beasts and make them his minions. There's no telling what he'll do to Hyrule if he gets them."

Without confidence, Zelda said, "There's a chance that he won't succeed."

"You and I both know that that won't happen. He's too strong." Link paused for a moment before he added, "I know that all too well."

"That may be so, but I still don't know that this is such a good idea."

Link took a deep breath. "Princess," he said, "there's something that I haven't told you about, and I think that this will convince you that I need to go to Reseptica."

Wary, Zelda asked, "What is that?"

Link proceeded to tell Zelda about his nightmare, something he remembered in perfect clarity. It was too powerful for him to ever forget it. Zelda tried her best to remain calm during it, but she could not keep her composure. This story was heart-wrenching.

Zelda took a moment before she responded to Link's story. "That was powerful, but I don't see why it makes you want to go to Reseptica more. In your dream, I got killed because you were there."

"But don't you see it? When I had that dream, I didn't know that it was real or that the other sages knew about it. They can cast a type of magic that will protect the land somewhat, right?"

Zelda paused again. She could see the earnest nature of Link's question. "We can try to cast a barrier on Hyrule's northern borders. The problem is that nothing can get in or out once we cast it. You'd be trapped outside of Hyrule until we took it down. How would we know to get rid of it?"

Link, out of words, said "I don't know." He paused and tried to think of something. Ultimately, he said, "Wait a second… Saria's Song is the answer!"

Zelda didn't know what this was, so she asked Link to explain his breakthrough.

"Saria's Song is an ocarina song that Saria taught me. It has always given me the chance to talk to her then. I can contact her with that, and she'll tell you guys to take down the barrier."

She mulled Link's suggestion over and said, "It's the best thing that we've got to go on right now. Still, I'm not sure about this plan of yours. It's very risky."

"What do you mean?"

"In the game of chess, this would be called a fork. Majorandorf is going to Reseptica, and, if you go up there and try to stop him, he might still be in Hyrule and the plan would backfire. If you don't go and try to stop him, he may awaken and subdue these beasts and then attack Hyrule. We can't hold the barrier against that kind of strength."

"So we're not going to like what happens either way, are we?"

"No, I'm afraid not."

"Zelda, I really want to go to Reseptica. I think he really went there, and I think that I can get moving before he tries to make his way back to Hyrule."

Zelda bowed her head for a moment, and she said, "I trust you, Link. But we can't let you go yet. We've got to let your ankle heal. You're useless with it like this."

Confidence creeping back onto his face, Link asked, "How long will that take?"

Zelda answered quickly. "Here in the castle, it will take about a week for us to take care of that swelling and make it as good as new."

"Well then, let's get this taken care of, so I can get going."

Zelda took Link to the castle's best nurses, and they cared for Link. In seven days, he was ready to fight again. With the rest, his ankle actually felt better than it had in months. He was in top fighting shape, and he was ready to go to Reseptica. Zelda had told him that he would have to head north through the desert, and so Link headed to the desert in the northwestern corner of Hyrule. He was ready.


	5. Preparation

Before he left the town, Link made his way to its lone temple. He did not make the journey to worship. Instead, he went there on business. It was strange, but the people of Hyrule rarely visited their temples. With the exception of this one, they were very difficult to enter. The one Link was going to was, by far, the simplest of the six in Hyrule. The other five were more like sprawling homes for deities of various elements: forest, fire, water, shadow, and spirit.

Link's destination was called the Temple of Time. It was an impressive building, at first glance. Two small pools of water deterred anybody from attempting to enter it from behind. Two heavy wooden doors were the only entrance into the temple. Above the doors was an image of the Triforce, a sign of safety for the townsfolk.

It was a beautiful piece of architecture. Arches were built into the front of the building, though their purpose was uncertain. Towers served as the corners of the structure, suggesting an air of majesty and of strength. Nobody ever thought to attack it.

Link pushed open the doors and entered the temple. Inside, it was fairly simple and empty. The temple mostly was bare. It had two identical red carpets, fringed with a golden swirling pattern at the edges. They led to the two main decorations the temple had.

The first was a hexagonal platform. It was raised a step or two off of the ground, and it had a Triforce image stretching to the middle of three of its sides. Underneath the image, there was a circular marking that was mostly contained in the empty triangle. In it, three triangles converged towards a common center point. Between them, three circles filled the space. It was a symbol of light.

The second was a raised altar. It was about half as tall as Link, and it had three indentations, for three stones. Behind it, up a few steps, there was a decorative carving. The carving's symbol was a circle with six triangles pointing up at it. Above the circle, a small and thin trapezoid stood above the circle, as if serving to crown it. Lines shot out of the circle, indicating its importance. Above the door, there was another image of the Triforce.

Link walked up to the altar and pulled an instrument from his pocket, an ocarina. It was a pale shade of blue, and it seemed to glow with a power. Around the base of its mouthpiece was a metallic band, embossed with a Triforce on it. Since it was a transverse ocarina, Link needed both hands to play it. This was the Ocarina of Time, a gift from Princess Zelda.

Before he played it, he took three small stones out of his pockets. One was an emerald, another was a ruby, and the third was a trio of sapphires. These were stones that represented the trust of three of Hyrule's different people. The emerald belonged to the Kokiri, the ruby to the Gorons, and the sapphires to the Zoras.

Gorons were boulder people who lived up in the mountains and ate mostly rocks. They were a relatively peaceful people, but they were very stubborn. Trying to argue with a Goron is like trying to argue with a rock. They cannot be swayed except by great courage and selfless actions. Link once saved them from starvation by opening up the cave that housed the most delicious rocks they knew.

Zoras were fishlike people who lived in a cave far to the east in Hyrule. They were cunning hunters, never willing to give up the kill. However, they only hunted small animals, often fish, and never bothered Hylians. They were a more secretive society, but they were not suspicious about travelers. Link had once saved their princess from the stomach of a whale.

It was very rare that someone would be able to win the trust of these three races. They had different styles, and someone would have to be kind, strong, and cunning in order to gain the trust of all three. That was a rare mix, but Link fit that description, and all three of the races loved him.

He played a somber tune, known as the Song of Time. The haunting melody was one that Link was all too familiar with. Zelda had taught it to him in a time of great distress, when Ganondorf terrorized Hyrule. That was also when she had given him the instrument, something passed down from generation to generation of the royal family.

Suddenly, the Triforce image on the wall changed from black to gold, and the ornate door opened, revealing a hidden passageway. Link climbed the steps and followed the passageway to a hidden room. Light streamed into the room at a certain point. It led to a raised dais on top of another raised platform. The platform was another hexagon, and it bore the symbols for the six elements: light, forest, fire, water, spirit, and shadow.

The dais was far more interesting. A Triforce image stretched across another hexagon, much like at the entrance of the temple. In the center of this one, there was a small pedestal, marked with a Triforce symbol of its own. In the center of that pedestal, a sword stood, trapped in the stone.

This was the Master Sword, the blade Link had used to defeat Ganondorf. After defeating the man, Link placed it back in the pedestal, hoping he would never have to wake it again. It was a long and sharp sword. It had a purple hilt that, at the base of the blade, extended like wings. A yellow diamond-shaped crystal marked the transition from hilt to blade. Slightly below that, the blade bore an image of the Triforce, signifying its strength.

Link walked up to the platform and pulled the sword from its resting place. He paused for a moment and swung the sword a few times. It felt just the way he remembered it. The blade slashed gracefully and powerfully. Depending on the style of opponent Link was fighting, it could handle just about anything. With this and a new shield Zelda had given him, Link was ready to leave.

Before he exited the temple, Link made sure that he grabbed the three stones. There was no great danger behind the doors, but he didn't want anybody to sneak into the hidden portion of the Temple of Time and try to steal anything. That had happened once before, and Link still struggled to forgive himself for that. His mistake let Ganondorf claim the Triforce of power and come to power.

Link left the temple respectfully and very resolved. He had his full fighting strength again, and he wanted to make sure that he was completely ready to fight against Majorandorf. He left the town and readied to journey to Reseptica.

As he set foot in Hyrule Field, Link raised the ocarina to his lips. After a moment of hesitation, he played a simple song, known as Epona's Song. Playing it had a twofold meaning. Firstly, it meant that Epona, his horse, would come and meet him outside the drawbridge. Secondly, it meant that Malon would know that Link was headed on a long journey. It was a secret sign between the two of them; he owed it to Malon to let her know that he was going to go away for a while.

Epona joyfully galloped towards Link, recognizing that he needed her. Link smiled as he saw the mare come into sight. Epona was a very good horse, and he trusted her with any obstacle that might be in his way.

"Hey there girl," Link softly said when Epona was next to him. "I've got a bit of a job for you. We're going to go for a ride." She whinnied, and Link chuckled for a moment. He mounted his horse and gave her a little encouragement.

They galloped southwestward, towards a mostly barren area. They were headed to the desert in the west. It was an area many Hylians feared, but Link and Epona knew better than to be afraid. The people who lived there were a desert folk, and they had difficulty surviving on their own. So, they turned to a life of thievery in order to survive. It wasn't much, but they survived and actually flourished. The only problem was that they were very territorial. If someone attempted to invade their land, they would attack and successfully defend their homes.

For the most part, they were harmless. Many of them stole only what the community needed to survive. There were a few rogues who took more than necessity dictated, but they were not very common. When those rogues were found, their leader disciplined them and made sure that they did not repeat those crimes again.

There was only one peculiar thing about these desert bandits. They were only women. These women thieves only produced one male every hundred years or so. That man always became their king, but, in his absence, a woman would rule over them. So, a woman currently ruled the Gerudo people. Link was looking for her.

He and Epona climbed up a stony slope to a single plank. It was simple, but it spanned a small crater filled with water. Link knew that he would have to take things slowly as he crossed it. If he lined Epona up wrong at all, she would refuse to cross the plank. She was a very smart horse, and he knew better than to try to cross her.

She crossed the plank slowly, and Link chuckled for a second. Epona was a good horse, but sometimes she was a little overcautious. After that, they approached a bridge. It had fallen into disrepair, as it was basically nonexistent. It was supposed to ford Hyrule's major river, Zora River. It wasn't doing its job very well. This bridge had two posts joined together with rope on each side. A little metal sheet was attached to both ropes. If someone had a grappling device, he could cross to the other side without any issue.

Link, however, liked to take a different route across. He had Epona build up speed and jump the chasm. In a graceful bound, she leapt across the bridge and climbed back up into the rocky soil. There was a small tent to their right, but Link guided her onwards, into a rocky structure. Shortly, they found themselves in the Gerudo stronghold.

At the entrance to the area, there was a rope with a metallic sign on it. The sign simply had a symbol of a large letter "C" that looked like a crescent moon and a star to its right. Occasionally, the symbol appeared backwards in the midst of the Gerudo stronghold.

The people had built their homes into the cliff in the desert. The women had homes that were interconnected by a series of tunnels in the cliff. It was a fascinating structure, and it was easy to get lost in the midst of it. On another edge of cliff, the Gerudo people had constructed a prison. If there was a criminal or trespasser, that person would be locked in it. It was an extremely tall cell without any grips. The only way out would be to find a way to catch something on the wooden ceiling. From there, someone could climb out of the prison.

Up a slight hill from the prison, the Gerudos had constructed an archery track. Link, if he wanted, could take Epona up there and practice his horseback archery. On the opposite end of the stronghold, there was a large gate that protected the women from the dangerous beasts that inhabited the wild desert. That was also the path to the enormous Spirit Temple, a very dangerous place.

Gerudo guards were scattered throughout the fortress. Most of them were dressed in purple pants. Because of the heat, those pants were rather baggy. They tapered down around the ankles to prevent any sand from getting inside of them. Their shoes were small, covering the soles of their feet as well as their toes. They wore a red and purple sleeveless shirt that exposed their midriffs. On their arms, they wore purple gloves that extended up their forearms, made from sturdy material. To hide their identities, they wore purple veils that covered their mouths. Each carried a spear with a curved blade. Their red hair was tied back, to avoid getting in the way of guard duties.

Link dismounted and told Epona that she could go home, that he would be going away for a while. Patting her head for a moment, he walked into the heart of the fortress. Quickly, a guard stopped Link and threatened to hurt him. Link put his hands in the air as she approached; he didn't want any confrontations.

She glared at Link, threatening him with her spear. With great disdain, she spat "What are you doing here, filthy Hylian dog?"

Link calmly said, "I'm here on business, looking for Nabooru."

The guard pressed her spear closer to Link's throat. "What makes you think that Nabooru wants to see you?"

"I'm her friend, and I can prove it to you."

She lowered her eyebrows and said, "I'd like to see you try."

Link reached into his tunic and pulled out a scrap of paper. He handed it to her and said, "I think that this will explain everything."

The guard read it and scoffed slightly. "I suppose that is legitimate." She leered for a moment before saying, "I'll take you to her, but if she doesn't know who you are, I'll kill you. Do you understand me?"

Link nodded, recognizing that she was only doing her job. Gerudo Fortress rarely got any visitors, and men were especially suspicious; they didn't belong. The guard led Link to a large room in the maze of chambers. It however was guarded by two more Gerudo women, and the guard threw Link in front of them.

She muttered, "He looks like he's got a real membership card. If the great Nabooru doesn't know who he is, execute him instantly."

The other guards, armed with dual swords instead of spears, nodded and said nothing. They simply led Link into Nabooru's quarters, one in front and one behind. They took no chances that would allow Link to escape. Then, they knocked him to his feet, in order to see what Nabooru thought of him.

When she first saw Link, Nabooru said, "Well, kiddo, it's been too long, hasn't it." She knew that the guards were a security measure, since she was an important person. Talking to them, she said, "I know who this one is. You can leave; rest assured that he is no threat to me or to you."

Nabooru resembled the Gerudo guards, but there were a few differences between them and her. Firstly, Nabooru's pants were pink, as were her fingerless gloves. Her shoes were red, pointed upwards, and significantly covered her feet. Nabooru did not wear a shirt, only a thin strip of white cloth that attempted to cover her chest. The largest difference between her and the other guards came in the form of jewels. She wore a ruby necklace, as well as a ruby ring and ruby-encrusted armbands. She tied her long red hair back into a ponytail with a large ruby charm holding it in place. Her earrings were gold and ruby. Lastly, she had an orange jewel on her forehead.

Link got to his feet and said, "It's good to see you too. Though, I wish these guards would believe me when I say I know you."

Nabooru smiled slightly and said, "You know that they wouldn't do that if you came to visit more often. It's been years since you've been here. You couldn't blame them if they forgot about you, could you?"

"I guess you're right."

Then, skipping any more pleasantries, Nabooru asked, "Link, what brings you here today?"

Link looked confused for a moment. He thought that word of Majorandorf would have reached the Gerudo thieves. After all, Ganondorf was their one male for the century. Any news of him in any form would surely reach them. "Well," he began, "I need your help."

Nabooru said, head resting on her hand, "I'm listening."

Link decided that he should make sure that Nabooru was up to speed with his plan. "You know about Majorandorf and my fight with him, right?"

She nodded and said, "Of course I know about that. I'm not living under a rock. I also know that he's looking to go to Reseptica; Zelda told me about that."

Link sighed in relief. He didn't have to explain everything. Then, he said, "I want to go there too."  
Skeptical, she asked, "And what makes you think that I know how to get there?"

Link spoke in a very matter-of-fact fashion. "You live in the desert, and, aside from Death Mountain, you're the furthest north in Hyrule. I don't want to try and climb down the other side of Death Mountain; getting up there nearly killed me, and I had roads that led me up there. So, I want to go north past this desert. Can you help me get there?"

Nabooru was slightly taken aback by Link's response. When she first met him, he was a small and uncertain child. Now, there was a confidence in his eyes that could not be quenched. He had defeated Ganondorf, and, if anybody could stop this new threat, he would be the one to do it. She only said two words: "Follow me."

She led Link to an area of the fortress he had never seen before. It was extremely well-hidden, especially since it was behind Nabooru's chambers. It looked like it was simply another hole in the cliff. Taking a look at it, Link realized that he was just small enough to fit through it. That was a slight relief.

Nabooru told Link, "This is the route we use. You're not a woman, but you're still young enough to squeeze your way through. If you came here a few months later, you would have to go around through Death Mountain. Be grateful."

Link smiled and said, "Thanks again. How far is it through here before I'm out of Hyrule?"

Nabooru paused and said, "If I remember how quickly you move through holes, I'd have to say that it'll take you less than a minute to be past Hyrule's borders, once you're through."

"Good. Once you know that I'm that far, alert the other sages and put up the border."

Nabooru smirked and said, "You can count on me, the Sage of Spirit. Just promise me that you'll be safe out there."

"I'll do what I can."

Link got down on his knees and burrowed into the hole. When he emerged on the other side, he would finally be in Reseptica.


	6. Reseptica, at Last

Link forced his way through the tunnel. Its sandy bottom made the path slightly more comfortable, but the stone walls were very close to him. He barely had enough room to move, and he felt trapped to some extent. Still, he made sure that he kept pushing, making himself move forward. Eventually, it had to end.

After what felt like hours, Link finally saw a glimmer of light at the end of the passageway. Summoning extra strength, he made his way towards it at a frenzied pace. As he approached it, Link noticed the taste of the fresh air on the other side. After dealing with this stuffy tunnel air, anything would have felt welcome.

When Link finally reached the end of this route, he pulled himself out. His knees were a bit sore, but he recognized that he had to move them in order to help them heal. Generally, he felt fine, running on a mix of adventure and adrenaline. At the entrance of Reseptica, things were not what he expected.

He had just emerged from a small hole in the side of a cliff. It would be very easy to miss, because the cliff had a number of shadows and thin impressions that looked exactly like Link's tunnel. The rock went higher than Link could see. He was in a small patch of grass. It was short, suggesting that Gerudos used the path often enough. In front of him, Link saw a winding stone path, in between two plateaus. They were high, but not much more than triple Link's height. They, like the cliff were a rough reddish-brown stone. They were rather solid, so there was no danger of the path collapsing. Even if there was one, Link really had no choice; he was in Reseptica and he was going forward, into the unknown.

Link moved cautiously along the path. It wound back and forth, but it never veered too far away from straight ahead. It was wide enough for Link to walk comfortably though. As he recognized this, Link sighed in relief; he would not be trapped by rocks on two sides again.

The blue sky was mostly clear. With few clouds to obscure it, the sun beat down on Link's face. He must have traveled through the night, because Link noticed that the sun was nearly at noon, and he had left Gerudo Valley close to sunset. This somewhat barren area of Reseptica was not kind to him, but Link understood. He hoped that he would find a less barren region soon.

Eventually, Link did reach the edge of the plateaus. Only slightly beyond them, tall grass sprouted up everywhere. Link was both glad and concerned at its height. It was tall enough for him to hide inside of it, but that also meant that any number of small or not-so-small creatures could be hiding in it, and they likely would not be very friendly to this wayward traveler. The grass stretched as far as Link could see, both to his right and to his left.

However, before Link could worry too much about what lived in the grass, rain began to fall. He was already tired from his long desert travels, and he was in no mood to deal with the rain. Link's eyes darted to the edges of the plateaus, praying that there was something there, a place where he could seek shelter.

Luckily, Link spied a cave's entrance off to his left. This would be the perfect place to seek shelter from the rain. Link sprinted for it, nearly loosing his footing in the mud that was starting to form underneath him. Still, he successfully made it to the cave without any real distress.

Once inside, Link noticed that the cave stretched on much further than he had initially thought. The fist several feet were slightly taller than Link's head, but things changed drastically after that. The cave walls were smooth, with wide bases. The walls slanted inwards, making a triangle shape that met in the middle. The tip of the triangle was nearly as tall as the plateau it was built into.

Link noticed that the middle of the cave floor had a rectangular walkway, made of dirt. The rest of the floor was composed of stone and dirt, not easy to walk. Further in the cave and along the sides of the dirt path, torches flickered, going down nearly as far as Link could see. He knew that he needed to explore it.

He walked down the dirt path, noticing that these torches were in gold holders. These holders were covered in triangles of different sizes and shapes. The triangles were a black color, suggesting something sinister. Link was intrigued by these holders, but he refused to stop proceeding. There might be something at the back of the cave, and he did not want to try to sleep without knowing the cave's secrets.

Eventually, Link reached the end of the torches. Past the final two ones, there was a large statue. Its base was large, going up to Link's waist and stretching several times wider than that. It was of a strange creature, heavily armored and massively tall. It did not look human, nor did it look like a beast, yet it had the strange quality of life around it. The armor covered this monument's entire body. If it had hands, time must have worn them away.

Much like the torches, this creature's armor was covered in triangles. But, it was different than that. It seemed like the statue's armor was composed of triangles. Corners were sharp right angles, but everything else seemed to be composed of many different types of triangles.

The most noticeable part of this triangle armor was its helmet. Instead of a round design, the helmet took the form of a tetrahedron. Each visible side was divided like it was a Triforce of its own. Only the front one had more than lines marking the divisions. Behind it was a slight hole where a head should be. This creature definitely had a head, but Link could not make it out. The light from the torches did not quite reach the head, making it impossible to see its face.

Link noticed that there was some engraving on the statue's base. However, time had worn away its writing. He could make out a few letters, but they were so spread out that Link could not possibly make out what it was trying to say.

Behind this strange object was the wall of the cave. Link was satisfied with that knowledge; nothing was going to attack him as he slept. He sat down in the shadows of the statue and got ready to sleep, removing his sword and shield. He needed some darkness to sleep, and this was the only part of the cave that was dark. He could have extinguished the torches, but he did not want to disturb any ritual that might take place in this cave. It seemed deserted, but it was better to err on the side of caution. After all, this was a new land, one that Link did not know.

Link slept peacefully; no nightmares haunted his dreams this night. The sun rose, and, for a few minutes, its rays illuminated the cave. They revealed the face of the statue, and it was demonic. Its eyes had no pupils, but they still stared directly into your soul, haunting it. The rest of its head was mostly hidden, shrouded behind a veil of blackness. However, Link awoke too late to notice that detail.

The first rays of the sun roused him, but he did not wake up until only torches lit the cave. Link stretched, slightly stiff from sleeping in the shadow of that creature's monument. He checked for both his sword and his shield and, noticing that they were both where he had left them. He donned them and took his first steps out of this ornate cave. Just before he exited, he took one last glance at the statue. It had not changed.

One of the first things Link noticed was that the rain had stopped. The ground in front of him was still damp, but it was not entirely mud. This arid part of Reseptica likely needed the water and had absorbed as much of it as possible. What was left was just enough to create a shallow mud. Link had dealt with mud like this often enough, tromping throughout Hyrule; it was no problem for him.

Since there was only one route available to him, Link moved towards the tall grass. Upon further examination, he noticed that it was vibrantly green, looking like reeds.

Something else caught his ear when he was examining the foliage. He heard two voices discussing something, but he was too distant to truly recognize what they were saying. In order to remedy this, Link sneaked into the cover of grass. He took special care to make as little noise as possible. If these voices belonged to dangerous foes, the slightest noise could lead to Link's death.

Luckily, the ground was relatively smooth underneath this grass. The blades were nearly uniform in height, and nothing was trampled around here. It was a pristine patch of vegetation. Link took a completely unused route, both a blessing and a curse. Nobody would suspect him, but he would make a great deal more noise than if he had taken a more traveled path.

A few yards in, Link could clearly make out the two voices, and he anxiously listened to them, trying to understand what they were talking about. He breathed as softly and shallowly as he could manage.

The first voice spoke. "Then, I suppose, everything is going according to plan." The voice was somewhat slippery and high pitched. Link figured that the man must resemble a snake at some level.

Then, the second voice responded. "Yes." It was a deep and gruff voice. However, Link could sense that its owner must not be particularly intelligent. It had paused for a moment before it delivered its one-word answer. In addition, the statement was just as much question as declaration.

"Excellent. Then our good master will be pleased. Have you set traps for the intruder he continues to speak of?"

"No. I'm trap enough."

The first voice sighed. It regained its composure and then said, "Very well. You will then go off to the forest. Make sure that nothing stops you from causing havoc there. They have something that the master wants."

"Right."

Link had to hold himself in check. This creature, whatever it was, was going to try and attack a forest. Since he had grown up in a forest, Link decided that he would follow this voice. He might not get much information out of it, but he would protect a few innocent forest dwellers in the process.

The first voice spoke again. "Well, I will go back to my duties. Don't look for me after you've completed your task in the forest. I'll come and get you in a few days. If you finish ahead of time, you may relax until I give you your next assignment."

"Okay."

The voices stopped there, and Link wanted to find out who they belonged to. He risked a glance above the grass, and saw two large figures moving in opposite directions. He couldn't tell which one was which, but he assumed that the bigger one was the one heading towards the forest. Both figures were covered in black robes that also covered their heads. He could not plan ahead for his confrontations with them, but he did not care. He could tell that they had to be stopped.

Deciding that he might be more of a threat, Link decided to follow the larger of the two. He kept a careful distance behind the figure, not wanting to give his position away. Here, Link had to use his stealth, something he was not normally good at. Still, it seemed that this figure was completely oblivious to Link; he never heard the clink of sheath and shield against each other, Link's breathing, or the sound of his boots as they crashed into unfamiliar objects.

The robed figure continued along the landscape of Reseptica. Once they passed the tall grass, there was a large meadow, roughly twice as large as Hyrule Field. Off in the distance, Link could see roads dotting the northern part of the field. A few towns were in that direction. And, though he could not identify it, Link heard the faint hum of a steam engine at the other side of the field.

Unlike Hyrule, Reseptica had a castle in the east of the land. Though he could hardly see it from such a distance, Link could tell that it was comparable in size to Hyrule Castle, though perhaps slightly smaller. That side of the field seemed to be a perfect picture of an organized kingdom.

Link's side of the grasses was very different. It was unkempt and there was no dirt road. Instead, there was the slightest hint of a path worn out of the grasses. None were quite as tall as they were behind Link, but they still were obviously unkempt. Patches of different heights and kinds of grass dotted the area, making it a hodgepodge of confusion and chaos.

It was a place generally untouched by humans, and there was a slight smell of blood in the air. Wild creatures and maleficent forces held sway out here. Both robed figures were strong enough to survive here without any major effort. They were the strongest of its natural inhabitants.

The larger figure continued to move to the east, until he was at a point almost directly in the middle of the southern edge of the field. Tall grasses again covered the border, and there were tall trees that sprouted up from behind the grass. However, these were no ordinary trees.

Most trees have some amount of greenery; these trees seemed to have no green. Instead of bark, these trees seemed to be covered in metal. By this point, the sun was getting ready to sink, which was to Link's benefit. During the middle of the day, the sun would reflect off of these metallic trees and make the forest blindingly bright. In addition, the heat would also reflect off of the trees and it would be nearly impossible for a normal person to survive in the midst of it; the sun would cook him alive.

The figure proceeded into the forest. Since the sun was still up, Link figured that the forest would be too warm to enter, so he waited outside of it for a moment, prepared to fight off anything that would come in his direction in the meantime. However, nothing followed after Link; he was too close to the first robed figure. The Reseptican animals, though ferocious, also knew that these figures were too difficult to deal with directly.

Link was unaware of this, so he kept his guard up for a few hours, especially after sunset. Still, nothing came. Soon after sunset was over, Link decided that he would enter the forest, trying to chase down that large figure. He was both nervous and anxious, because this was an unknown challenge. The unknown frightened him a little bit, but the idea of defending a forest, however unnatural, gave him courage and strength.

Checking his surroundings again, Link saw nothing. Content with that, he entered the forest, unsure of what to expect. Since he had given the creature a few hours head-start, he did not know where it would be.

He did not know how vast this forest would be; if it were as large as Kokiri Forest, it may take hours to find the black robe, and he didn't have that kind of time. The sun would be up by that time, and he would not be able to see and he would start burning soon.

On first entering the forest, Link was a bit startled. He certainly had seen things made out of metal before, like swords and shields. However, he had never seen a tree composed of metal. He cautiously walked over to the first tree he saw and momentarily forgot about his pursuit.

When he reached it, Link tapped on the tree with his left hand. Since the sun had only just set, it was still very warm. Link had guessed correctly that it would retain heat, but he did not expect it to be quite this hot. He pulled his gloved hand away, shaking it in an attempt to stop the burning sensation that spread through his fingers.

Still, from the sound it made, Link was sure that the tree was composed entirely of metal and was not simply wood covered in it in order to make it appear stronger. The tree sounded slightly hollow, as if there was a place to live inside of the tree. Link wondered if this was the case for the other tress in this forest. They were mostly clustered in one area, with a small clearing in the midst of it.

This clearing was smaller than the one that Link knew from his home forest, but it was completely flat. By comparison, these trees sprouted from a hillier area. The trees were very stable and very sturdy. Because of their metallic nature, they could withstand more abuse than normal wooden trees.

As Link recovered from burning his sword hand, he noticed a heavy breathing behind him. He turned around and saw that it was not the figure he had been tracking. Instead, this was something much smaller but still rather dangerous, a wolfos.

In Hyrule, a wolfos was a fearsome creature. It was very similar to a wolf, running on four legs and being so quiet and stealthy that it appeared to come out of nowhere. The main difference between a wolf and a wolfos was in ferocity. A wolf may attack if it feels that someone has invaded its territory. A wolfos views any other creature that is not a member of its own species to be a threat, one worth attacking. Also, a wolfos would occasionally stand on its hind legs in order to attack a threat.

This particular wolfos did not seem to be quite as vicious as other members of its species, but Link also recognized that he was in a different land. There would probably be differences between similar creatures. For example, its fur was a blinding shade of white and normal wolfos have a grey fur.

In self-defense, Link drew his sword and shield. It was a bit difficult for him to grasp the Master Sword, since his fingers were still very tender. Still, he could defend with his shield and risk taking weak and sloppy strikes against this foe, assuming others did not join the fray. Even if his hand weren't burned, Link could not have stood a chance against more than two or three wolfos at once.

The wolfos cringed slightly when it saw Link's sword and it immediately stood on its hind legs. Link expected it to start swinging its front legs to scratch at Link. He readied his shield and loosened his grip on his blade. However, it never started slashing at Link, which confused him. Perhaps this wolfos was more intelligent than the others he had fought before and wanted to bait Link into making the first attack.

Against his better judgment, Link dropped his shield for a moment and gripped the Master Sword with both hands. He still gave the lead to his left hand, but he recognized the inherent difficulties with it. He jumped and closed his eyes for a moment, readying to cut through the lupine creature, when he suddenly heard a voice.

Link stopped his attack and nearly dropped his sword when he realized that the voice was coming from the wolfos he was trying to attack.


	7. The Wolfos of the Metallic Forest

It said, "Please don't hurt me, good sir."

Link had never heard a wolfos talk before, and it took him by surprise. He did not sheathe his sword, but he held it at his side. Shaking his head, Link regained his composure and talked to the creature. "What kind of trick are you playing?" he asked suspiciously.

Confused, the creature said, "I'm not playing any tricks on you. I don't want to die, nor do I want you to kill me."

"But, you're a wolfos. You're a vicious, manipulative creature that wants to kill and eat me."

With that, he put its paw up to his forehead. It said, "I think I know what's going on here. You assume that, just because I'm a wolfos, I'll attack and hurt you."

Link nodded, slightly tightening the grip on his sword.

"Well, that's simply not true. You must have me confused with another breed of wolfos. We don't kill anything. Instead, we wait for the sun to heat our trees and cook anything that wanders into our forest. That is how we survive."

"Who is this 'we' that you speak of?" Link asked, more suspicious than before.

"Why, I mean the pack of wolfos that lives here in this forest."

As if on cue, a number of wolfos suddenly appeared behind the first one. Overwhelmed, Link gripped his sword even tighter. His knuckles turned white. However, he did not strike; he could not. The Master Sword fell out of his hands.

Once the blade fell to the ground, the first wolfos ran over to Link and gently held his left hand. Link had no time to react before he said "My, your hand looks burnt. Did you rest it on one of the trees?"

Again, Link nodded.

"Well," the wolfos began, "we've got to do something about that." He started leading Link into the trees. "This is a common problem, especially among the younger wolfos. We've got just the thing for you a little further back."

Link had little choice but to follow. The wolfos had a strong grip on the Hylian's hand, though he hardly felt it. Besides, without a sword for defense, Link was basically useless. Trees followed little pattern along their route; no person would find this path, except by the most random chance.

Deep in the forest, Link's wolfos led him to a hollowed-out tree. Inside, cauldrons and pots bubbled, carrying a variety of colored liquids. A single wolfos sat inside, watching the concoctions. This one was far more distinctive than the others, clearly older than the rest. Her fur was greyer than the other wolfos and, in several small patches, it did not exist.

She sharply noticed the approaching group. Link's tread was too heavy to avoid detection. She growled for a moment, hearing and smelling the intruder. Seeing Link led by the hand, her face softened. She recognized that he was not here for malicious purposes. Rather, he was around for care.

She too rushed over to Link and grabbed his other hand, his good hand. Her grip was much stronger than he expected. She thought that Link was right-handed, and she wanted to take no chances with the traveler. In what little light there was, she noticed the shield and recognized that he had a warrior's build. The hood confused her, but she did not question it.

Gruffly, she said "That will be enough, my child. I will take him from here."

The other wolfos released Link's left hand and bowed. Respectfully, he said, "As you wish, my lady."

She led Link into the tree, and it seemed bigger on the inside. Despite being composed of metal, it was deceptively cool inside this tree. Even with fires burning, none of the wolfos felt hot. This one was no exception. The tree had two chairs, and she sat Link down in one of them, while still holding fast to his hand.

Questioningly, she asked, "So, what brings you here?"

Link responded simply, "My hand is burnt, and one of you dragged me here."

She rolled her eyes and said, "Oh, that one grabbed you without a second thought? He's utterly useless as a guardian. I swear that he'd bring anything back here, no matter how dangerous it is."

Link nodded and said, "I understand. He didn't even give me time to grab my sword again."

Quickly, her eyes narrowed. Fiercely, she questioned, "Sword? What do you mean 'grab your sword?' Are you trying to kill us, boy?"

Link recognized his mistake. He quickly said, "No, no, no. I'm not here to harm any of you. I didn't even know that you were here. I'm trying to take care of a cloaked figure that just came into the forest."

She knew what he was talking about and asked, incredulously, "You mean to say that you're looking to fight with Statua?"

"I don't know if that's his name, but I want to stop him from hurting this forest. I come from a forest myself, and I don't want to see anything bad happen to this one."

Reseptica had no other forests, at least anymore, so the wolfos knew that something was awry. Eyes still suspicious, she asked, "Where do you come from?"

Link said, "I come from the land of Hyrule, to the south. More specifically, I come from the woods in its southeast corner, Kokiri Forest."

While the wolfos didn't know what Link was talking about, she knew that he was telling the truth. Still interested, she asked, "What brings you to our land, Hylian?"

Link bowed his head in shame for a moment. He said, "I let a great threat escape my land, and he said that he was coming to this land. I think that this Statua is working for him too, since he was talking with another cloaked figure, a really slimy one too."

She knew exactly who Link was talking about, but she decided not to tell him. If he came to fight against Statua and failed, then there would be no chance for him against the other one. She paused for a moment and said, "I don't know who this threat you talk about is, but I must warn you that Statua is a very powerful foe in his own right."

He did not want to be overconfident, so Link asked, "What makes him so strong?"

"As his name might imply, he is a living statue."

Link momentarily froze, thinking that she was referring to that unnamed statue from the cave. Cautiously, he asked, "Is he triangular in nature?"

The wolfos looked at Link rather confusedly. She responded, "No. Statua isn't triangular at all. Instead, he's very square. Hardly any of him is anything but rectangular."

Link nodded. He knew very little about this opponent, and now he recognized that his own sword would not be very useful against him. With an air of desperation, Link asked, "Does he have any soft spot, where I could use my sword?"

She did not want to respond to Link for a moment. If he was able to topple Statua, then he was a dangerous threat to the other wolfos. He could systematically destroy them. Reliant on the trees for camouflage and food, they had no real combat experience. Diplomatically, she looked at Link and said, "Promise me something."

Taken aback, Link asked, "What do you mean?"

"I would like a little reassurance. Consider this a failsafe, young man."

"What am I promising?"

"It's simple really. If you fight Statua, you mustn't mention any of our secrets. Also, if you do manage to defeat him, you will leave this forest immediately."

"Why do you want me to do that?"

"Child, I don't trust anybody not a part of my clan, and I would like to see us live to see another day in peace."

Link swallowed and took a deep breath. "If those are your demands, then I accept your terms. Now, tell me, what is this creature's weakness?"

She nodded. "Very well," she said, "The only weakness this thing has is its face. The rest of its body is covered in stone armor, but its face is left bare and is subject to attack. I do not know if it is soft enough for your sword to do damage against, but it is your one hope."

Link bowed slightly and said, "Thank you very much, err…madam. Can you do me one other favor, while we're here?"

"I suppose that you want me to heal your wounded hand, don't you?"

Link nodded, saying, "I would indeed. That's my sword-hand, after all."

Now the wolfos was taken aback. She asked, "You're left-handed?"

Confused, Link said, "Yeah. Why's that a big deal?"

"Boy, you could have used that hand to strike at me."

Link paused and then said, "I guess I could have, but why would I? You've all been so nice to me."

She was struck with Link's demeanor and choice of words. Still, she refused to let her guard down. She changed the subject and said, "You know, it was a foolish decision to touch one of the trees with your dominant hand. It's always better to try and do something like that with your off-hand."

He nodded and said, "I know. I guess I wasn't thinking when I did that."

"That, child, is a bit of an understatement."

Link could not argue with that assessment. Instead, he tried to get help for his hand again. He said, "So, is there anything you can do to help me with this burn?"

She said, "We have a twofold cure. First, we submerge it in this potion." As she spoke, she pointed to one of the bubbling pots. A sickly green liquid filled this one. "Then, we put one of these around your hand." She pointed to a series of bandages hanging from a hook.

He smiled and said, "Well, let's take care of my hand then."

She looked him squarely in the eye and said, "Very well, child. Still, this will be very painful."

Link nodded and said nothing. He was ready to heal, no matter how painful it was. If he couldn't grasp his sword, then he was completely useless in combat. The only other object he had was a shield, and it was not going to be enough to chip away at a man made of stone.

The healing process was very precise, but it hurt. Link nearly cried out in agony a few times, but he managed to hold himself together. He wanted this process to go as quickly as it could, and saying that he hurt would only slow it down.

Several hours later, the sun was beginning to rise, and Link was finishing up the healing process. His left hand was tightly bound in wrappings. The old wolfos was wrapping it up. However, she knew that Link would be trying to fight shortly and the bandages would shortly fall off.

She told Link to stay put while she went to another tree secluded away. As she searched, Link sat patiently. Whatever this wolfos was doing, he trusted her. After all, she had come to trust Link in the healing process. She admired his inner fortitude during the painful healing practice. She chose the much faster but more painful course, and he did no more than grit his teeth in complaint.

After several minutes, she returned and tossed something in Link's lap. She muttered, "Put these on. They'll keep your bandages on." He examined them and noticed that they were gloves. Brown leather and slightly worn, they resembled a pair of fingerless gauntlets he wore before. The fingers were the most damaged part of the gloves, and they would be the first part to fray. Still, they were a fine pair of gloves.

Link put them on and smiled. They fit perfectly. Still curious, Link asked, "Where did you get these from? These aren't the kind of thing that you would wear."

She chuckled and sighed for a moment. "Many moons ago," she began, "There was a Reseptican man who came here. I was just a little pup at the time, but he was friendly. He would play with us in the forest after dark, when it cooled down.

"One day, he tried to show me what his world was like, world outside of this metallic forest. So, we went and he even took me to the other side of the field, the less wild part. I was intrigued, and so I followed him, staying close to him all the time.

"Before too long, we reached his village and he tried to show me to his family. They chased me away, and saw where I was going. I wanted nothing to do with him after that, but he kept coming back to the forest. Very slowly, he won back my trust.

"Then, some years later, he was later than usual, and so I got a little worried. I heard the sound of footsteps like his, and I ran to see him. However, I could tell that something was wrong. He told me that I had to be careful and that there was going to be trouble. Though he kept trying to get me to leave, I didn't. Shortly after his last warning, I saw why.

"A band of other Resepticans came towards the forest. Some carried torches and others carried swords. They had come to try and attack us. That man had run ahead to try and defend us. I could see that he was outmatched and outmanned. So, I ran to gather a few other wolfos, and we tried to even the odds.

"I fought alongside them, and I wanted to do everything I could to protect my friend. In the attack, I suffered a few burns, and that's why I'm missing fur in these places. They've never healed. Fighting bravely, we managed to push the crowd backwards.

"For one moment, I let my guard down, and one of the other men tried to attack me. Had he struck me, I would surely have died. However, my friend threw himself in front of the attack. It wounded him severely, and that infuriated me. In my rage, I nearly tore the head off of that man, and he fled.

"Recognizing victory, I tried to tend to my friend, but I was unable to successfully save him. He died in my arms that night, bleeding heavily. That is why I turned to studying potions and healing, so nothing like that would happen to my fellow wolfos. Those gloves, they were his, the ones he died in. I guess you could say that you remind me of him, because he was so friendly to me and never once cried out in pain, no matter how badly I hurt him that night."

By this point, she was nearly in tears and had gone to all-fours in order to stabilize herself. Genuinely moved by this story, Link started to tear up. He carried the spirit of another warrior with him in his gloves, and he would be glad to try and defend this forest. Still, Link knew that he had to do something to express his deep appreciation for that story.

He lunged towards the old wolfos and wrapped his arms around her. He whispered a simple phrase into her ears: "Thank you." The words hardly came out of his throat, but they were all that needed to be said. They expressed a gratitude that could not be expressed in words. Alongside that gratitude was the desire to fight alongside that fallen man to defend the forest again.

She looked up at Link and smiled slightly. "You know," she started, "That's exactly what he would have done." After a moment, she regained her composure and looked over at her pots again. She said, "Sit down, because I've got another surprise for you."

Suddenly, they could hear someone knocking at the tree. She smiled and said, "That must be our little friend right now. Come in."

The first wolfos came to the front of the tree. Walking on his hind legs, he was clearly hiding something behind his back. He bowed his head slightly before softly saying, "I come bearing gifts for the young adventurer."

The potion wolfos responded, "Thank you, Martin. You may give it to him."

Martin bowed more fully and said, "As you wish, my lady." Then, he turned to Link and said, "You dropped this, dear traveler." Presenting him with the Master Sword, Martin continued, "You ought to be more careful with this. It is a fine blade, having an air of light magic surrounding it. It would be a pity if it fell into the wrong hands."

Link grasped the sword and stood up for a moment. Making sure that he was far enough away from the two wolfos, he gripped it tightly and swung the blade several times. He was simply testing his hand out, but the others saw a taste of the skill Link possessed. Confident in his hand's strength, Link turned to the two wolfos. Seeing their shocked faces, he asked, "What did I do?"

Again, the elder wolfos spoke and said, "Child, you are quite skilled with that blade. Maybe you do stand a chance against Statua, after all."

Blushing slightly, Link sheathed his sword and started to rub the back of his neck with his left hand. He did not know how he wanted to respond, so he just said nothing. He knew that he was skilled, but he still wanted to maintain an air of modesty. That was a defense Link used to keep himself humble.

"Child, rumor has spread this way of a swordsman of great skill. I was curious to know if that might be you. What is your name?"

Surprised, he answered, "My name? My name is Link, if that means anything."

She paused for a moment and collected her thoughts. Muttering slightly, she said, "I thought that it was something else, but that sounds close enough. If you are this swordsman and you live up to the hype, you stand a chance against Statua. Still, I would give him an edge, because he is far craftier than he appears. Though he is slow-witted, he is a very capable fighter. Be careful when you fight against him, understand?"

Link nodded and said, "I certainly will. You can count on me, Martin and, err…what is your name?"

The wolfos was surprised and said, "Child, you should be careful. If I hadn't gotten to know you by now, I would have slapped you for your lack of manners. Still, my name is Maria."

Link reaffirmed what he was saying. "Maria, Martin, you two can count on me. I'll be careful when I fight against this Statua guy, whoever he is."

Maria knew that there was nothing that she could do to dissuade Link. Like all adventurers, he would at least promise to be careful. She could tell that his type would throw itself in front of harm's way in order to protect new friends. He was not just a warrior; he was also a hero.


	8. The Man of Stone

Suddenly, they heard a rumbling sound. Recognizing that trees were falling, Maria growled and Martin attempted to restrain her. Link quickly picked up on the commotion and started walking in the direction of the falling trees.

Instantly, Martin called out to him and ordered, "Stop right there, Master Link!"

He turned around and asked, "Why? There's trouble going on at the edge of the forest, and I bet that that Statua guy is causing it."

Martin nodded, saying, "I agree with your assessment, good sir, but there's a slight problem here. It's still daylight; it's too hot for you out there right now. You've got to wait until sundown to fight with him."

As much as he wanted to disagree with Martin, Link knew that this was the correct course to take. "Okay," he sighed, "I'll wait."

Martin, still struggling to restrain Maria, sighed in relief. "That's good," he said.

Anxious, Link asked, "What should I do until then?"

Smiling, Martin pointed and said, "Go to the next tree down that way. That one's mine; go and sleep in there. I'll come and get you when it's time to head out."

Link nodded and moved in that direction. Gratefully, he said, "Thanks, Martin."

Coming to the tree, Link noticed that it was also hollowed out and there was a simple grass bed in it. Martin lived simply, but this was all that Link needed. Taking off his sword, shield, and hat, Link stashed them against the edge of the tree, curling up next to them. Before long, he fell asleep.

Though he had no nightmares, Link still tossed and turned in his sleep. Dozens of images of what Statua looked like haunted his dreams, each one less defined than the last one. One was a giant square with eyes, and another was a diamond with legs and arms, carrying a sword in each hand.

Mercifully, Martin came by a few minutes early and roused him. Noticing that Martin was there, Link regained his composure quickly and quickly grabbed his gear. He took a deep breath and asked, "Where is he?"

Martin said, "Follow me."

The wolfos guided Link out of the tree and moved him back towards the edge of the trees. Several minutes later, they came upon a clearing. Mostly circular in nature, it had to be several dozen yards in diameter.

Martin gasped, saying, "The damage is worse than I expected. That fiend has completely destroyed those trees. He'll probably do even more damage tomorrow, if you don't stop him now. Good luck."

Link nodded, collected himself, and took a deep breath. He looked Martin in the eyes and said, "I can handle this; I promise."

Alone, Link strode into the clearing. The sun had only recently set, so it was still rather warm in the forest. He was fighting nerves, ready to finally figure out what this Statua character really was. Though it was dark, there was a full moon in the sky that night, making it much easier for Link to see. Before too long, his eyes rested upon something that could only be Statua.

The creature was rather tall, almost twice as tall as Link. And, it was nearly as wide as it was tall. Composed almost entirely of a dark-grey stone, it had three stone sections for legs, all bricklike in appearance. Its Arms were similar, having two sections of arm and two of hands. Both of those met into a large cubic torso. Its composition was more varied than the other parts were. With the exception of its middle, it was made of the same dark-grey stone; in the middle, the stone was decidedly lighter, emphasizing a large "S."

As Link's eyes came to the head, he noticed that it was mostly a smaller cube than the torso. In front, the stone changed color and consistency, revealing its face. Statua's face was a lighter grey, showing closed eyes and a large frowning mouth. Strangely enough, it also had a handlebar mustache, composed of a white stone. In accordance with Statua's blocky appearance, it curled at right angles, four times on each side.

Though he found Statua's appearance to be rather odd, Link knew that he could not underestimate the creature. He had felt the fear in Maria's voice when she described him. Assuming that she was not lying, this was a tricky foe, one that would make Link think he was far less skilled than he actually was.

Instantly, Link tried to get Statua's attention by shouting, "Hey, you!

Statua's eyes gradually opened, focusing on Link. His eyebrows lowered and, grumpily, he asked, "What do you want? Can't you see I'm trying to sleep?"

Mustering his composure again, Link said, "I'm here to stop you from destroying the forest."

Shaking his head, Statua responded, "I can't let you do that."

Link, trying to discover something, prodded by asking, "Why's that?"

"The master says so."

"Who's the master?"

"Master said not to reveal his identity."

Slightly frustrated, Link said, "Well, I'm here to stop you and your master."

Chuckling, Statua said, "Master warned me that there might be a pest like you. You stand no chance against him or me. I'll crush you!"

With that assessment, Statua started charging at Link. Rolling to his right, Link easily avoided his foe. Though he was rather strong, Statua had a lot of momentum to overcome. It took him a short while to stop and turn around, ready to fight against Link again.

Seeing an opening, Link ran towards Statua, anticipating where he would turn around. His calculations were accurate, and Link was in perfect position. When Statua turned around to face him, Link planted his boot into the "S" in Statua's chest. Following with brilliant swordplay, Link used Statua as a springboard, moving upwards. In an instant, he was swinging his blade, ready to plant it in Statua's face.

Noticing the ploy, Statua grabbed Link's legs around the knees. Using his incredible strength, he pushed them together, looking to break Link's legs by crushing them against each other. This strategy managed to lock Link in place, but it was ultimately unsuitable for finishing him off. Due partially to his training and partially to his natural skill, Link managed to continue his slash, striking Statua right above his mustache.

Surprised and in pain, Statua dropped Link. Trying to shake off the numbness present in his knees, Link got back to his feet in an instant. He had to be ready for Statua's next attack. However, it was more delayed than he expected.

Covering his face with his hands, Statua cried out in pain. Furious, he yelled, "That hurt, you jerk! I'm going to make you hurt!"

Almost instantaneously, Statua balled his left hand into a fist and it separated from his arm. Hurtling towards Link, it was completely accurate and nearly caught Link squarely in the torso. Reflexes saved Link here, as he thrust his shield in front of the attack at the last second, providing him with a momentary defense.

Statua's fist launched Link backwards several yards, practically to the edge of the trees. It was a small wonder that Link never left his feet, having dug his heels into the ground. Still, he recognized that he had to get out of the trajectory of the attack. Otherwise, Statua would end up doing damage to the forest, which was exactly what Link was trying to avoid.

He ran towards the other side of the circle. Meanwhile, Statua continued to fire his fists at Link. Because of his constant motion, Link always managed to just outrun them. He could sense that Statua was simply toying with him, trying to make him look like a fool as they fought.

An imperceptible grin appeared on the stone man's face. He had not been challenged like this in quite some time. It was fun to see an opponent who didn't crumble instantly at the force of his fists. Link was also the first opponent to touch his face in a long time. Statua did not like that, because it was his only weakness, and only somebody with great speed or incredible combat ability could take advantage of that weakness and defeat him. Still, he knew that he had not even begun to display his true strength. Perhaps it was time to show the little pest a taste of his true force.

Link readied himself, far enough from the edge of the arena. At that moment, Statua fired another fist at him. Holding his shield out in front of him, Link charged towards the fist. As he collided with it, he used its momentum to flip him on top of it. He intended to ride the fist back towards Statua's body, in order to strike at him again.

Unfortunately, Link did not expect to find the other fist flying towards him. As a result, it hit him and knocked him backwards. Link landed on his back, near the edge of the battlefield.

Breathing heavily, he rolled back onto his front and tried to get back to his feet. However, before he could manage to recover entirely, Statua launched a hand, trying to contain him. Link was trapped. The edge of the hand had caught onto the sole of Link's right boot. As much as he struggled, Link could not pull his foot free.

Menacingly, Statua approached Link. He wore a sadistic smile, ready to squash Link. He thought that there was absolutely nothing that Link could to in order to get out of this trap.

Link still had complete control of his other three limbs, and so he attempted to find some method of escape. He noticed a visible line on the hand. It separated the four fingers from the palm and thumb. Angling precisely, Link struck at that line.

In a moment, the hand split apart. The palm fell in front of Link, and the fingers fell backwards. Freed, Link took advantage of the situation and tried to jump off of Statua again.

Launching himself skyward, Link readied to swing the Master Sword through Statua's head. Unfortunately, Statua managed to avoid that attack by launching his head skyward. As it turns out, he could launch each of his appendages outwards with great velocity.

Though he had managed to launch himself high in the air, Link's failure to strike left him open to an attack from underneath. Statua took full advantage of this situation by firing his other fist at Link.

He took the blow squarely and continued to rise, higher and higher in the air, along with the fist. On the way up, the fist passed dangerously close to Statua's head. Link, hoping to still do something, kicked at it. All he was able to do was send the mustache spinning, eventually falling off of his face.

This disoriented Statua for a moment, which helped Link out. Falling to the ground hard, Link landed face-forward on the ground. He tried to roll in order to minimize the damage he would receive. Unfortunately, he had fallen from too high to escape unscathed. A jolt of pain ran through Link's legs; for a moment, he was frozen in place.

All the while, Statua returned to his normal form, sans mustache. Picking it up in his right hand, he unfurled one end of it, turning it into a large stone blade. The edges were sharp, though not as sharp as metal. Furious, Statua yelled at Link, "So, you want to fight like this, do you?"

Though he dared not show it, Link grew hopeful. While rooted to the ground, his attempts to leap onto Statua were going to be fruitless. His best skill was his swordplay, and, though it would be minimized by a lack of mobility, he still stood a chance this way.

Statua charged forward, holding his new blade, swinging wildly at Link. Clearly, Statua was not a swordsman. His form was sloppy, almost embarrassingly so. His slashes lacked crispness and purpose; his aim was far from precise. Link noticed these things in an instant. Imperceptibly, he grinned.

With a minimum of effort, Link fought off Statua's strikes with both his sword and shield. Though he could not focus energy through his legs, Link's arms were strong enough to handle an assault like this one. It could not and would not stop him.

After several minutes of this strategy, neither combatant was weary in the slightest. All the while, Link felt energy return to his legs. Holding still had proven its benefits, and Link quickly showed Statua how amateur his form was, as soon as he felt confident in that strength.

Turning and slashing, Link knocked Statua's blade to the side. Continuing on in one swift motion, he then cut off Statua's hand, following the line that separated it from his wrist. Then, Link, having regained his speed somewhat, launched himself airborne and threatened to swing at Statua's head, coming from above and to the left of it.

With only a moment to react, Statua launched his head skyward. However, Link had not been aiming at the head. Instead, he struck Statua's left arm, severing it from his body. As soon as gravity forced Statua's head back to his body, Link leapt again and struck it.

Crying out in pain, Statua reformed. Instead of using his mustache as a sword again, Statua curled it back up and returned it to his face. For a moment, the behemoth breathed heavily, recognizing that Link possessed an abnormal amount of skill in order to sever him so many times.

Panting, he told Link, "I can see that you're better than I though, kiddo. Still, you haven't seen anything yet."

Link nodded, not wishing to be overconfident. A smirk forming on his face, he answered with two words, "Bring it."

This was exactly the kind of battle that Link had been longing for. He was fighting a dangerous and crafty opponent. Statua had so many different forms and abilities that Link had to think creatively in order to counteract them. This was a test of both his physical stamina and of his mental capabilities. Running on the thrill of combat, Link eagerly anticipated how Statua would again attempt to attack him this time.

Statua rearranged his limbs in a different fashion. Taking a chunk away from each of his legs, he created a neck for himself. Statua's reach was still as long as it had previously been, but his head was more difficult to reach. Link could tell that Statua could launch his head three times as high this way.

Link moved cautiously closer to Statua. In retaliation, Statua instantly launched one of his arms at Link. Despite the different angle, he could adequately attack Link; his aim was perfect.

Unlike past attempts, Link dove to his left in order to avoid the fist. Statua fired another, and Link dove to the left again. As soon as he recognized that he had avoided them both, Link charged at Statua and leapt on top of his torso.

He struck at the neck, severing it twice in the blink of an eye. And, as Statua's head was falling back to the torso, Link powerfully slashed it. Statua had not been used to Link's speed to begin with. This different angle should have given him a better vantage point, but Statua had not taken the time to adequately adjust to this new sight.

In order to buy himself more time, Statua launched his mustache at Link, knocking him off of his torso. The white stone caught Link across the stomach, launching him backwards. It followed Link downwards and buried him into the ground, giving Statua the time he needed to reform.

As Link was attempting to regain his breath, Statua created a new form. This one was more stationary than any of his others. Having rearranged his limbs in yet another fashion, Statua now had hardly any legs, hardly any arms, and an extremely long neck. His unfurled mustache rested in his right hand, serving as a spear.

As Link puzzled at what Statua had become, he recognized that he had to move quickly. Statua, against all logic, had started to use his new neck like a whip. Link ran to his right, diving at the last moment in order to get out of the way. Figuring that Statua would continue to attack like this, he turned the dive into a summersault and got back to his feet quickly.

His prediction was correct; the next attack was on its way as soon as Link got to his feet. If Statua were just a bit slower, Link could have studied the whip attack. However, he did not have that luxury; he had to figure out another strategy on the fly.

He continued to circle around Statua to the right while avoiding the whip. After a few dodges, Link recognized this and wondered what Statua would do if he dodged to the left. He figured that it might give him a chance to avoid the whip and not have to dive out of the way.

Link could not see Statua's face as he attempted this ploy. If he could have, Link simply wouldn't have tried to dodge to the left. Statua smiled maliciously. Link's new strategy had fallen right into his trap.

Link avoided the whip rather easily and looked at the structure of it for just a moment. Composed of arm and leg segments, it bore no obvious weakness aside from segmentation. He figured that he would have to handle it the way he had handled the previous neck, one segment at a time.

As Link was studying, the mustache hurtled towards his heart. Link had no time to get out of the way or move his shield in the way. So, he attempted to guard it with his sword. It fell out of his hand, but Link refused to stop there. Recognizing that this was a matter of life and death, he tried to divert it as best as he could.

With great strength, Link moved the mustache-spear so that it crushed no vital organs. It still penetrated his tunic and his chest slightly. Link's sword and hand had succeeded in slowing the spear down. However, Statua was not done with his attack.

Link, distracted by the spear currently sticking out of his body, did not have time to properly notice the whip heading for him. However, he had just enough time to move his shield in front of his face. Against all hope, he prayed that he could withstand the force of Statua's weight.


End file.
